CN113250831B

CN113250831B - Fuel control device and rudder control device

Info

Publication number: CN113250831B
Application number: CN202110118347.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 川谷圣; 藤原真
Original assignee: Nabtesco Corp
Current assignee: Nabtesco Corp
Priority date: 2020-01-28
Filing date: 2021-01-28
Publication date: 2023-07-21
Anticipated expiration: 2041-01-28
Also published as: JP2021116058A; KR102558824B1; KR20210096567A; JP7448415B2; CN113250831A

Abstract

A fuel control device and a rudder control device are provided. There is proposed a technique for reducing the fuel consumption rate of a ship by suppressing the variation in the load of an engine. In order to solve the above problem, a control device (23) is provided with: a prediction unit (27) for predicting the amount of load fluctuation of the engine (19) due to disturbance at a predetermined time; a rudder angle control unit (29) that controls the rudder angle according to the target rudder angle value; and a fuel control unit (33) that controls the fuel supply amount by increasing the fuel supply amount to the engine (19) when the load on the engine (19) increases due to the disturbance load fluctuation amount and the rudder angle load fluctuation amount, and controls the fuel supply amount by decreasing the fuel supply amount to the engine (19) when the load on the engine (19) decreases due to the disturbance load fluctuation amount and the rudder angle load fluctuation amount, based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount, the rudder angle load fluctuation amount, and the target revolution number, which are predicted by the prediction unit (27).

Description

Fuel control device and rudder control device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a fuel control device and a rudder control device.

Background

Conventionally, various technologies have been proposed for reducing the fuel consumption rate of a ship (for example, patent document 1). Patent document 1 describes the following: the inflow speed of seawater flowing into the variable-pitch propeller is predicted, and the blade angle of the variable-pitch propeller is controlled based on the prediction result.

Prior art literature

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent No. 6047923

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The present invention aims to provide a technology for reducing the fuel consumption rate of a ship by suppressing the variation in the load of an engine by a method different from that of patent document 1.

Solution for solving the problem

In order to solve the above problems, a fuel control device is a control device for controlling a fuel injection amount to be injected into an engine of a ship, the ship including: a propeller; the engine is used for transmitting rotary power to the propeller to propel the ship; and a steering engine for turning the ship, wherein the fuel control device comprises: a turning command unit that instructs the steering engine to navigate the ship on a specified route; a prediction unit that predicts a load of the engine, which is generated by disturbance and control of the steering engine according to the target rudder angle value at a predetermined point in time during which the ship is traveling on the specified course, and calculates a load fluctuation amount of the predicted load of the engine with respect to a current load of the engine; a rotation number acquisition portion that acquires a target rotation number and an actual rotation number of the engine; an adjustment unit that adjusts the fuel injection amount at the predetermined timing based on the target revolution, the actual revolution, and the load fluctuation amount to suppress fluctuation in the revolution of the engine; and an engine control unit that injects fuel to the engine based on the adjusted fuel injection amount.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a ship according to a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a graph showing a relationship between the disturbance load fluctuation amount and the elapsed time.

Fig. 3 is a graph showing a relationship between the elapsed time and the target rudder angle value.

Fig. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between the total values of the load fluctuation amounts for each elapsed time.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a series of operations of the control device.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a ship of a second embodiment.

Fig. 7 shows an example of the fuel consumption rate contour.

Fig. 8 shows the time-dependent change of the target rudder angle value for sailing on a given course.

Fig. 9 shows the temporal change of the predicted load.

Fig. 10 shows the corrected target rudder angle value.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of a part of fig. 10.

Fig. 12 shows the change with time of the rudder angle when the correction amount is corrected based on the change amount of the rudder angle.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing a series of control by the control device.

Detailed Description

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described. Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a ship according to a first embodiment.

As shown in fig. 1, a ship 100 includes, for example, a telegraph 11 and a steering unit 13 disposed in a bridge. The propulsion generator 15 receives the command value from the telegram 11, and the propulsion generator 15 generates an output corresponding to the command value. The operator inputs a steering angle command value of the steering engine 17 to the steering unit 13, and changes the steering angle according to the steering angle command value during manual operation.

The propulsion force generating device 15 includes an engine 19 and a propeller 21, and the propeller 21 is fixed to an output shaft of the engine 19 and is driven to rotate by rotational power transmitted from the engine 19. The engine 19 is driven at a number of revolutions corresponding to the output command value input from the telegram 11. In the automatic cruise control, the engine 19 is driven at the target engine revolution number that is input. The telegram 11 may be a device capable of inputting a command based on the speed (ground speed or water speed), and the output command value may be a value indicating the number of engine revolutions required to reach the speed.

The ship 100 includes: a control device 23 as rudder control device; and a fuel supply device 25 that supplies fuel to the engine 19 under the control of the control device 23.

The control device 23 includes: a prediction unit 27 that predicts a load fluctuation amount of the engine 19 when disturbance such as tide or wind is received; a rudder angle control unit 29; an information acquisition unit 31 that acquires information on the control conditions of the engine 19; and a fuel control unit 33 that controls the amount of fuel supplied from the fuel supply device 25 to the engine 19.

The prediction unit 27 obtains disturbance information such as a tide prediction, a wave prediction, and a wind prediction. The engine load fluctuation amount (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as "disturbance load fluctuation amount") predicted by the prediction unit 27 is a fluctuation amount with respect to the reference load of the engine 19. The reference load of the engine 19 is the load of the engine 19 when the engine 19 is driven at a fixed number of revolutions in a state where the steering 17 is in a neutral position without being affected by the tide, the wave, and the wind. Thus, the disturbance load fluctuation amount is a fluctuation amount with respect to the reference load when the ship 100 is disturbed. The prediction unit 27 obtains disturbance information including weather information such as tide prediction and wave prediction, and weather information such as wind prediction, to predict the disturbance load fluctuation amount. The disturbance information may be information detected on the ship 100 or information acquired from the outside of the ship. The prediction unit 27 predicts the disturbance by performing analysis of the time series using the autoregressive model based on the disturbance information by a known method, and predicts the amount of load fluctuation of the engine 19 due to the disturbance (the amount of disturbance load fluctuation as the first amount of load fluctuation) based on the predicted disturbance. The prediction unit 27 predicts the disturbance load fluctuation amount at each time, and calculates a function of the elapsed time and the load fluctuation amount. Fig. 2 shows a relationship between the disturbance load fluctuation amount and the elapsed time. The prediction unit 27 outputs the predicted disturbance load fluctuation amount of the engine 19 to the fuel control unit 33.

Returning to fig. 1, the rudder angle control unit 29 outputs a control value of the steering engine 17. The control value of the steering engine 17 is a signal representing the actual angle of the steering engine 17. The control value of the steering engine 17 may be a rudder angle indicating signal calculated from the difference between the target angle and the actual angle. The rudder angle indicating signal may be a signal calculated for navigating on a specified course that is preprogrammed for automatic navigation control. When the rudder angle control unit 29 changes the angle of the steering engine 17 from the neutral position, the resistance applied to the propeller 21 increases, and the load on the engine 19 increases.

The information acquisition unit 31 calculates a target engine speed, a target engine load, and a target fuel injection amount based on the output command value. The information acquisition unit 31 monitors the operation state of the engine 19, and acquires information on the operation state of the engine 19 including the actual number of revolutions of the engine. Thus, the information acquisition unit 31 functions as a revolution acquisition unit.

The fuel control unit 33 controls the amount of fuel supplied to the engine 19 based on the operating state such as the target engine speed, the target engine load, the target fuel injection amount, the actual engine speed, and the like. The fuel control unit 33 as the adjustment unit adjusts the target fuel injection amount based on the engine target rotation number, the engine actual rotation number, the disturbance load fluctuation amount, and the rudder angle load fluctuation amount described later, at the time of automatic navigation control. The fuel control unit 33 controls the amount of fuel supplied to the engine 19 based on the adjustment result. The output of the fuel control unit 33 may be a signal indicating the amount of fuel or a signal indicating the position of the console of the fuel supply device 25.

The control of the fuel control unit 33 to adjust the target fuel injection amount will be described. Fig. 3 shows the relationship between the elapsed time and the target rudder angle value.

When adjusting the target fuel injection amount, the rudder angle controller 29 first calculates the relationship between the elapsed time and the target rudder angle value from the information on the specified route. The fuel control unit 33 obtains the elapsed time and the target rudder angle value from the rudder angle control unit 29, and calculates the relationship between the elapsed time and the load fluctuation amount (rudder angle load fluctuation amount as the second load fluctuation amount) corresponding to the target rudder angle value based on the relationship between the elapsed time and the target rudder angle value. The rudder angle value when the steering engine 17 is set to the neutral position is set to 0 degrees, and the angle increases when the steering engine 17 turns to the right chord side, and decreases when the steering engine 17 turns to the left broadside. The steering engine 17 may be set to increase in angle when turning to the left side. As shown in fig. 3, the target rudder angle value is set for each elapsed time. When the neutral position of the steering engine 17 is set to 0 degrees, the rudder angle load fluctuation amount is set to 0, and when the steering engine 17 is moved by θ degrees from the neutral position and when the steering engine 17 is moved by- θ degrees from the neutral position, the rudder angle load fluctuation amount is set to the same amount. The rudder angle load fluctuation amount increases as the absolute value of the target rudder angle value increases. The fuel control unit 33 calculates the total value of the load fluctuation amounts at the same time based on the relationship between the elapsed time and the rudder angle load fluctuation amount and the relationship between the elapsed time and the disturbance load fluctuation amount.

Fig. 4 shows a relationship between the total value of the load fluctuation amounts for each elapsed time. As shown in fig. 4, the total value of the load fluctuation amounts is a function obtained by summing up a function of the elapsed time and the rudder angle load fluctuation amount and a function of the elapsed time and the disturbance load fluctuation amount. The fuel control portion 33 calculates a total value of the load fluctuation amounts, and corrects the fuel injection amount based on the calculated value to keep the revolution number of the engine 19 at the target revolution number.

Specifically, the fuel control unit 33 refers to the total value of the load fluctuation amounts after Δt seconds, and increases the fuel injection amount when the load of the engine 19 increases compared to the current load of the engine 19. In this case, the fuel control unit 33 gradually increases the fuel injection amount to gradually bring the operating state of the engine 19 closer to the target operating state. The fuel control unit 33 refers to the total value of the load fluctuation amounts after Δt seconds, and reduces the fuel injection amount when the load of the engine 19 is reduced compared to the current load of the engine 19. In this case, the fuel control unit 33 gradually decreases the fuel injection amount to bring the operating state of the engine 19 closer to the target operating state. The fuel control unit 33 derives a fuel injection amount and a fuel injection timing that enable the current operation state of the engine 19 to be changed to the target operation state using a Digital Twin (Digital Twin) based simulation. The fuel control unit 33 corrects the fuel injection system, that is, the fuel injection amount and the timing, according to the derived timing. Thus, after Δt seconds, the target revolution can be maintained even if the load of the engine 19 increases or decreases. By maintaining the target revolution even when the load of the engine 19 increases or decreases, the fuel consumption rate of the engine 19, that is, the fuel consumption amount can be reduced.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a series of operations of the control device. In step S1, the control device 23 calculates the disturbance load fluctuation amount based on the predicted disturbance. In step S2, the control device 23 calculates the rudder angle load variation amount from the control value of the steering engine 17. The order in which steps S1 and S2 are performed may be reversed or simultaneous. In step S3, the control device 23 corrects the target fuel injection amount based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount and the rudder angle load fluctuation amount. In step S4, the control device 23 controls the fuel supply device 25 based on the corrected target fuel injection amount. The control device 23 repeatedly executes the control of steps S1 to S4 during navigation.

As another embodiment, the disturbance information and the target rudder angle are input to the prediction unit 27, and the prediction unit 27 calculates the disturbance load fluctuation amount. The fuel control unit 33 adjusts the fuel injection amount based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount, the actual revolution number, and the target revolution number. The disturbance-based load and the target rudder angle-based load may also be calculated independently.

By the control device 23, the target fuel injection amount can be corrected to keep the number of revolutions of the engine 19 at the target number of revolutions. This can improve the fuel consumption rate. In particular, when the load on the engine 19 is reduced due to a reduction in the amount of water flowing into the propeller 21, the fuel injection amount is reduced, so that fuel consumption can be suppressed. Here, the fuel consumption rate refers to the fuel consumption rate [ g/kw·h ] of the engine expressed as the fuel consumption amount per unit output per unit time.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a ship of a second embodiment. The same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment are given to the portions already described in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

The control device 23 of the ship 200 includes a fuel consumption rate calculation unit 201, a second prediction unit 203, a rudder angle correction unit 205, and a deviation amount calculation unit 209. The first prediction unit 27 in fig. 6 has the same configuration as the above-described prediction unit, but is denoted by the word "first" for distinguishing it from the second prediction unit 203.

The fuel consumption rate calculation unit 201 calculates the fuel consumption rate of the engine 19 based on the contour of the fuel consumption rate of the engine 19 mounted on the ship 200. Fig. 7 shows an example of a fuel consumption rate contour. In fig. 7, the vertical axis represents the engine load, and the horizontal axis represents the engine revolution.

The second prediction unit 203 predicts the load fluctuation amount of the engine 19 due to the change in rudder angle according to the target rudder angle value. The target rudder angle value is a rudder angle value when navigating according to a specified route. It is known that when the rudder angle is changed from the neutral position, the resistance of the water received by the steering engine 17 or the ship 200 as a whole increases, and the load on the engine 19 increases according to the amount of change in the rudder angle. In order to predict the load fluctuation amount of the engine 19 due to the change in rudder angle, it is possible to use the past information obtained by correlating the rudder angle value with the measurement result obtained from the engine load measuring device such as the main engine power meter. The second prediction unit 203 has information on the relationship between the variation amount of the rudder angle and the engine load variation amount in advance, predicts the engine load variation amount based on the information, and outputs the prediction result to the rudder angle correction unit 205 as the rudder angle load variation amount.

The rudder angle corrector 205 corrects the target rudder angle value based on the deviation amount in addition to the disturbance load fluctuation amount, which is the prediction result of the first predictor 27, and the rudder angle load fluctuation amount, which is the prediction result of the second predictor 203.

The rudder angle control unit 29 controls the steering engine 17 based on the target rudder angle value corrected by the rudder angle correction unit 205, in addition to the above-described configuration.

The ship 200 of the second embodiment corrects the fuel injection amount as described in the first embodiment, and controls the steering engine 17 based on the target rudder angle value corrected by the rudder angle correcting device 205. Next, the correction by the rudder angle corrector 205 will be described.

The fuel consumption rate calculation section 201 calculates the current fuel consumption rate based on the current engine torque, the actual engine revolution number, and the fuel injection amount to be injected to the engine 19. The fuel consumption rate calculation unit 201 predicts the fuel consumption rate at a predetermined time point when the actual engine revolution is maintained, based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount. The fuel consumption rate calculation unit 201 corresponds to a fuel consumption rate calculation unit and a fuel consumption rate prediction unit.

The deviation amount calculating unit 209 functions as a deviation amount predicting unit or a deviation amount calculating unit, and obtains position information such as GPS to calculate a deviation amount between the route in navigation and the specified route. The offset amount is output to the rudder angle corrector 205 as an offset amount, for example, the distance from a straight route constituting a predetermined route.

The rudder angle corrector 205 corrects the target rudder angle value based on the fuel consumption rate, the disturbance load fluctuation amount, the rudder angle load fluctuation amount, and the deviation amount. Thus, in the present embodiment, the first prediction unit 27, the second prediction unit 203, and the rudder angle correction unit 205 function as prediction units and correction units. The rudder angle corrector 205 corrects the target rudder angle value based on the fuel consumption rate contour of the engine 19.

The ship 200 includes: a rudder control unit 35 that controls the rudder angle based on the target rudder angle value corrected by the rudder angle correction unit 205; and a steering angle command input unit 37 that receives a command from the steering unit 13. The rudder control unit 35 controls the rudder angle based on the input from the rudder angle correcting unit 205 or the rudder angle command input unit 37. For example, when the steering unit 13 is operated to avoid an emergency or the like during the automatic navigation control, the steering angle command input unit 37 detects the operation of the steering unit 13, and inputs a steering angle command value corresponding to the operation amount of the steering unit 13 to the steering control unit 35. In this case, the rudder control unit 35 controls the rudder angle based on the rudder angle command value from the rudder angle command input unit 37 regardless of the output from the rudder angle correction unit 205.

Next, the correction processing performed by the rudder angle corrector 205 will be described.

[ interference-based rudder angle correction ]

In one embodiment, the rudder angle corrector 205 corrects the target rudder angle value based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount predicted by the first predictor 27. Fig. 8 shows the time-dependent change of the target rudder angle value for sailing on a given course. In the illustrated example, the rudder angle is increased or decreased in one direction (for example, in the right-turn direction), and the origin of the vertical axis represents the neutral position of the steering engine 17. Fig. 9 shows the temporal change in the disturbance load fluctuation amount predicted by the first prediction unit 27. The disturbance load fluctuation amount includes a load that increases the engine load (a load that is a positive value) and a load that decreases the engine load (a load that is a negative value). The rudder angle corrector 205 calculates a correction function that reduces the engine load when the load that increases the engine load is predicted, and increases the engine load when the load that reduces the engine load is predicted. In other words, the rudder angle corrector 205 calculates a correction function having a phase opposite to the waveform of the disturbance load fluctuation amount. In this embodiment, the magnitude of the correction function at each time is the same as the magnitude of the disturbance load fluctuation amount at the same time. Thus, the correction function has a waveform (indicated by a broken line in the figure) that makes the disturbance load fluctuation amount line symmetric with respect to the horizontal axis, for eliminating the disturbance load fluctuation amount. The rudder angle corrector 205 applies a correction function to the target rudder angle value to obtain a target rudder angle value for eliminating the disturbance load fluctuation amount. In this case, the disturbance load fluctuation amount does not need to be eliminated at one hundred percent, and the disturbance load fluctuation amount may be reduced to a level within a predetermined fixed range.

Fig. 10 shows the corrected target rudder angle value. As shown in fig. 10, the corrected target rudder angle value is obtained by applying the same waveform as the correction function to the target rudder angle value before correction.

Referring to fig. 9 and 10, the disturbance load fluctuation amount at time t1 is larger than the disturbance load fluctuation amount at time t 2. In contrast, as shown in fig. 10, the corrected rudder angle at time t1 is smaller than the corrected rudder angle at time t 2. In this way, the rudder angle is reduced to reduce the engine load when the disturbance load fluctuation amount is large, and the rudder angle is increased to increase the engine load when the disturbance load fluctuation amount is small. This eliminates the disturbance load fluctuation amount, and the fluctuation of the load of the engine 19 when the disturbance is received is made close to zero (that is, close to the reference load), thereby reducing the fluctuation of the load of the engine 19. By reducing the variation in the load of the engine 19, the fuel consumption rate of the engine 19, that is, the fuel consumption amount can be reduced.

The steering may be performed by directly using the corrected target steering angle value obtained as described above, or the corrected target steering angle value may be further corrected based on information obtained from the fuel consumption rate, the second predicted load, and the amount of deviation.

[ control based on the Fuel consumption Rate contour ]

In one embodiment, the rudder angle corrector 205 further corrects the corrected target rudder angle value based on the fuel consumption rate calculated by the fuel consumption rate calculator 201. In this case, the rudder angle corrector 205 increases the correction amount to improve the fuel consumption rate when the fuel consumption rate is deteriorated, and decreases the correction amount to 0 or 0 when the fuel consumption rate is not deteriorated or slightly deteriorated. The correction amount being set to 0 means that the target rudder angle value corrected based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount is restored to the target rudder angle value before correction. The reduction of the correction amount means that the target rudder angle value is set to an arbitrary value between the target rudder angle value after correction based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount and the target rudder angle value before correction.

Referring to fig. 7, point a represents the current engine state. Points B and C each represent the state of the engine 19 at a predetermined time point when the target rudder angle value is corrected in accordance with the disturbance load fluctuation amount. Points a and B are located on the contour of the fuel consumption rate, indicating the same fuel consumption rate. In the case where the fuel consumption rate does not deteriorate from the current value (in the case where the engine state is shifted from the point a to the point B) although the disturbance load fluctuation amount is applied to the engine 19, the rudder angle correction unit 205 corrects the correction amount to 0 or a value smaller than the correction value corresponding to the predicted load. On the other hand, when the fuel consumption rate is degraded from the current value when the disturbance load fluctuation amount is applied (when the point a is shifted to the point C), the rudder angle corrector 205 corrects the engine torque so as to avoid degradation of the fuel consumption rate.

[ control based on the amount of course deviation ]

In one embodiment, the rudder angle corrector 205 further corrects the corrected target rudder angle value based on the offset calculated by the offset calculator 209. In this case, the rudder angle corrector 205 refers to the current position, reduces the correction amount to give priority to returning to the specified route when the amount of deviation from the specified route is equal to or larger than the first deviation threshold, and eliminates the disturbance load fluctuation amount based on the correction amount when the amount of deviation from the specified route is smaller than the first deviation threshold. The corrected target rudder angle value is made smaller or larger according to the value of the disturbance load fluctuation amount. Thus, a situation in which the specified course is greatly deviated when the navigation is continued based on the corrected target rudder angle value is also considered. When the rudder angle corrector 205 deviates from the specified route by a predetermined distance (deviation threshold value) or more, the correction amount is reduced to 0 or a value smaller than the correction amount when the deviation is smaller than the deviation threshold value.

The rudder angle corrector 205 may further correct the correction amount of the target rudder angle value based on the predicted amount of deviation of the course. The deviation amount calculation unit 209 calculates the deviation amount between the navigation route in navigation and the specified navigation route based on the position information, and predicts the position of the ship at a predetermined time point when the ship navigates at the corrected target rudder angle value. The deviation amount calculating unit predicts the deviation amount of the predicted position of the ship with respect to the specified route. When the deviation is equal to or greater than the second deviation threshold, the rudder angle corrector 205 preferentially returns to the specified route to reduce the correction amount of the target rudder angle value, and the correction amount is set to 0 or a value smaller than the correction amount when the deviation is smaller than the second deviation threshold.

[ control of the variation amount based on the target rudder angle value ]

In one embodiment, the rudder angle corrector 205 further corrects the corrected target rudder angle value based on the amount of change in the target rudder angle value. When the amount of change in the target rudder angle value according to the specified route is large (equal to or larger than the rudder angle threshold value), it is considered that the ship 200 is required to make a sharp turn and the priority according to the specified route is high. When the amount of change in the target rudder angle value is equal to or greater than the rudder angle threshold value, the rudder angle correction unit 205 reduces the correction amount of the corrected target rudder angle value. Further, the value of the rudder angle threshold value can be appropriately determined based on turning performance of the ship or the like. In addition, when the target rudder angle value is large, the correction amount may be reduced.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of a part of fig. 10. In fig. 11, at times t3 and t4, the change amount of the target rudder angle value becomes large, and the change amount is set to be equal to or larger than the rudder angle threshold value. In this case, the rudder angle corrector 205 reduces the correction amount immediately after the time t3 and the time t4 to approach the target rudder angle value. The correction amount may be restored after a predetermined time has elapsed after the rudder angle has been greatly changed.

[ control of the amount of variation predicted based on rudder angle ]

In one embodiment, the rudder angle corrector 205 further corrects the corrected target rudder angle value based on the prediction result of the second predictor 203. In this case, the rudder angle corrector 205 further corrects the target rudder angle value in consideration of the disturbance load fluctuation amount based on the disturbance predicted by the first predictor 27 and the rudder angle load fluctuation amount predicted by the second predictor 203.

Fig. 12 shows the change with time of the rudder angle when the correction amount is corrected based on the rudder angle amount. In fig. 12, the solid line represents the corrected target rudder angle value described in association with fig. 10, and the broken line represents a rudder angle value obtained by further correcting the corrected target rudder angle value according to the rudder angle. As described above, the amount of increase or decrease in the engine load is reduced by further reducing the corrected target rudder angle value based on the prediction result of the second prediction unit 203.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing a series of control of the control device 23. When the automatic navigation control is started, the control device 23 starts a series of processes. In step S11, the control device 23 determines whether or not the current engine output is smaller than the output threshold. The output of the engine 19 can be obtained from the fuel input amount, the engine revolution number, and the measurement result of the main engine power meter. When the output of the engine 19 is small, the cornering performance of the ship 200 for controlling the rudder angle is low. On the other hand, if the engine output is equal to or greater than the fixed amount, the cornering of the ship 200 with respect to the control of the rudder angle becomes high. The load threshold is predetermined in consideration of cornering performance of the ship 200. When the output of the engine 19 is smaller than the load threshold (yes in step S11), the target rudder angle value is not corrected, and in step S12, the control device 23 controls the rudder angle in accordance with the target rudder angle value.

When the output of the engine 19 is equal to or greater than the threshold value (no in step S11), the control device 23 predicts the disturbance load fluctuation amount based on the prediction result of the first prediction unit 27 in step S13. In step S14, the control device 23 corrects the target rudder angle value based on the prediction result of step S11. In step S14, either one of the corrected target rudder angle value obtained based on the prediction result of the first prediction unit 27 and the target rudder angle value further corrected based on the information obtained by the fuel consumption rate calculation unit 201 or the like may be employed. In step S15, the control device 23 controls the rudder angle according to the corrected target rudder angle value.

When there is an input from the rudder angle command input unit 37 while the series of processing is being performed, the rudder angle is controlled based on the rudder angle command input value. The processing in step S11 may be performed at any time point.

In this way, the control device 23 can correct the target rudder angle value based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount obtained by the first prediction unit 27. This suppresses the fluctuation of the load of the engine 19 due to the influence of the disturbance, and keeps the load of the engine 19 constant, thereby reducing the fuel consumption rate.

Further, by using a correction function such as to cancel the disturbance load fluctuation amount, the load fluctuation of the engine 19 can be made small or zero.

In addition, when the disturbance load fluctuation amount is smaller than the load threshold value, the deviation from the specified course can be reduced by controlling the rudder angle according to the target rudder angle value without correcting the target rudder angle value.

Further, by further correcting the correction amount according to the amount of change in the target rudder angle value, it is possible to preferentially make the turning of the ship 200 when a sharp turn is required.

Further, by using the calculation result of the fuel consumption rate calculation unit 201, the fuel consumption rate can be further reduced.

Further, by using the calculation result of the deviation amount calculation unit 209, the deviation from the specified route can be reduced.

In addition, by using the result of prediction by the second predicting unit 203, the number of revolutions of the engine 19 can be kept more constant, and the fuel consumption rate can be further reduced.

In addition, by using the input of the rudder angle command input unit 37, emergency avoidance and the like can be reliably performed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the structures of the embodiments can be appropriately modified within a range not departing from the spirit of the present invention.

In the embodiment, the control device 23 is configured to control the fuel consumption rate [ g/kW.h ]]The reduction is performed to avoid control such as deterioration of the fuel consumption rate. However, the control device 23 may perform the fuel consumption amount [ m ] based on the fuel consumption amount representing the fuel consumption amount per unit time instead of the fuel consumption rate ³ /h]Control to reduce the fuel consumption to avoid deterioration of the fuel consumption rate.

The predicted variation amount of the rudder angle can be added when a correction function based on the disturbance rudder angle correction is calculated in advance.

Claims

1. A fuel control device for controlling a fuel injection amount to be injected to an engine of a ship, the ship comprising: a propeller; the engine is used for transmitting rotary power to the propeller to propel the ship; and a steering engine for turning the vessel,

the fuel control device is provided with:

a turning command unit that instructs the steering engine to navigate the ship on a specified route;

a prediction unit that predicts a load of the engine, which is generated by disturbance and control of the steering engine according to the target rudder angle value at a predetermined point in time during which the ship is traveling on the specified course, and calculates a predicted load fluctuation amount of the load of the engine;

a rotation number acquisition portion that acquires a target rotation number and an actual rotation number of the engine;

an adjustment unit that adjusts the fuel injection amount at the predetermined timing based on the target revolution, the actual revolution, and the load fluctuation amount to suppress fluctuation in the revolution of the engine; and

and an engine control unit that injects fuel into the engine based on the adjusted fuel injection amount.

2. The fuel control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the prediction unit predicts the load of the engine based on a target rudder angle value calculated from the current ship direction and a target position at a predetermined time.

3. The fuel control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the prediction unit predicts the load of the engine based on a target rudder angle value calculated from the current heading of the hull, the disturbance, and a target position at a predetermined time.

4. The fuel control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein,

the adjustment unit increases the fuel injection amount when the load of the engine is predicted to increase relative to a reference load, and decreases the fuel injection amount when the load of the engine is predicted to decrease relative to the reference load.

5. A rudder control device for controlling a ship, the ship comprising: a propeller; an engine for transmitting rotational power to the propeller to propel the vessel; and a steering engine for turning the vessel,

the rudder control device is provided with:

a first prediction unit that predicts a load of the engine due to disturbance at a predetermined point in time during which the ship is traveling on the specified course, and calculates a disturbance load fluctuation amount of the predicted load of the engine with respect to a reference load;

a second prediction unit that predicts a load of the engine generated by controlling the steering engine in accordance with the target rudder angle value at the predetermined point in time during which the ship is traveling on the specified course, and calculates a rudder angle load fluctuation amount of the predicted load of the engine with respect to a current load of the engine;

an adjustment unit that adjusts the fuel injection amount at the predetermined timing based on the target revolution, the actual revolution, the disturbance load fluctuation amount, and the rudder angle load fluctuation amount to suppress fluctuation in the revolution of the engine;

an engine control unit that injects fuel to the engine based on the adjusted fuel injection amount;

a correction unit that corrects the target rudder angle value so as to reduce the fuel consumption rate of the engine, based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount; and

and a rudder control unit that controls the steering engine in accordance with the corrected target rudder angle value.

6. A rudder control device for controlling a ship, the ship comprising: a propeller; an engine for transmitting rotational power to the propeller to propel the vessel; and a steering engine for turning the vessel,

the rudder control device is provided with:

a correction unit that corrects the target rudder angle value based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount so that the fuel consumption amount of the engine is reduced; and

7. Rudder control device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein,

the correction unit corrects a rudder angle to eliminate the load fluctuation amount of the engine predicted by the first prediction unit.

8. Rudder control device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein,

the correction unit corrects the target rudder angle value so as to decrease the target rudder angle value at the predetermined time based on the rudder angle load variation amount when it is predicted that the load of the engine increases with respect to the reference load at the predetermined time.

9. Rudder control device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein,

the correction unit corrects the target rudder angle value so as to increase the target rudder angle value at the predetermined time based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount when it is predicted that the load of the engine decreases at the predetermined time.

10. Rudder control device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein,

the reference load is a current load of the engine.

11. The rudder control device of claim 6, wherein,

the correction unit corrects a rudder angle so that the load fluctuation amount of the engine predicted by the first prediction unit is within a fixed range.

12. Rudder control device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein,

when the amount of change of the target rudder angle value with respect to the current rudder angle value is equal to or greater than a rudder angle threshold value, the correction unit reduces the correction amount of the target rudder angle value as compared with the case where the correction amount is smaller than the rudder angle threshold value.

13. Rudder control device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein,

when the load of the engine is smaller than a load threshold, the rudder control unit controls the rudder angle according to the target rudder angle value that is not corrected.

14. The rudder control device according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising:

a fuel consumption rate calculation unit that calculates a current fuel consumption rate based on a current engine torque, a current engine revolution number, and a fuel injection amount to be injected into the engine; and

a fuel consumption rate predicting unit that predicts a fuel consumption rate at the predetermined time point when the current engine speed is maintained, based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount,

the correction unit corrects the target rudder angle value based on the current fuel consumption rate and the prediction result of the fuel consumption rate prediction unit.

15. The rudder control device according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising:

a position acquisition unit that acquires a current position of the ship; and

a deviation amount calculation unit that calculates a deviation amount of the current position of the ship with respect to the specified route,

when the deviation is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the correction unit reduces the correction amount of the target rudder angle value.

16. The rudder control device according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising:

a position predicting unit that predicts a position of the ship at the predetermined time point when the steering engine is controlled with the corrected target rudder angle value; and

a deviation amount prediction unit that predicts a deviation amount of the predicted position of the ship with respect to the specified route,

17. Rudder control device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein,

the first prediction unit predicts a load of the engine due to the disturbance based on at least one of sea image information and air image information.

18. Rudder control device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein,

the ship is provided with a rudder angle command input part which is input with a rudder angle command value from an operator,

the rudder control unit controls the steering engine in accordance with the rudder angle command when the rudder angle command input unit is inputted, and controls the steering engine in accordance with the corrected target rudder angle value when the rudder angle command input unit is not inputted.

19. A rudder control device is a control device for controlling a ship, the ship comprising: a propeller; an engine for transmitting rotational power to the propeller to propel the vessel; and a steering engine for turning the vessel,

the rudder control device is provided with:

an adjustment unit that adjusts the fuel injection amount at the predetermined timing based on the target rotation number, the actual rotation number, and the rudder angle load variation amount to suppress variation in the rotation number of the engine;

a correction unit that performs at least one of the following corrections: correcting the target rudder angle value so as to decrease the target rudder angle value at the predetermined time based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount when it is predicted that the load of the engine increases with respect to the reference load at the predetermined time; and correcting the target rudder angle value so as to increase the target rudder angle value at the predetermined time based on the disturbance load fluctuation amount, when it is predicted that the load of the engine decreases at the predetermined time; and