JP2024057350A - Marine propulsion system and vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a ship propulsion system capable of suppressing the ship's attitude from becoming unstable when the ship overcomes waves approaching the ship without reducing the ship's speed. [Solution] In this ship propulsion system 100, a control unit 14 is configured to perform ship traveling direction control when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than a first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of a wave W approaching the ship 110, so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. [Selected Figure] Figure 4

Description

This invention relates to a ship propulsion system and a ship.

Conventionally, ships have been known that are equipped with a control unit that controls changes in the ship's direction of travel (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 describes a ship that includes a laser radar that detects objects including waves around the ship, a data processing unit that estimates the direction of the waves around the ship based on the detection results of the laser radar, a steering device that steers the ship, and a control unit that controls the steering device. In the ship described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the control unit is configured to control the steering device (i.e., to control the ship's direction of travel) so that the angle between the estimated direction of the waves around the ship and the ship's traveling direction is smaller than a predetermined angle (e.g., 30 degrees).

JP 2017-58322 A

Here, although it is not described in the above Patent Document 1, in a conventional ship such as the one described in the above Patent Document 1, when the traveling direction of the ship is at a relatively small angle (for example, less than 30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the speed at which the waves approaching the ship collide with the ship when the ship overcomes the waves approaching the ship becomes relatively large. As a result, the impact on the ship that occurs when the ship overcomes the waves approaching the ship becomes relatively large. And the greater the impact on the ship, the more likely the ship's attitude becomes unstable. In contrast, although it is not described in the above Patent Document 1, in a conventional ship such as the one described in the above Patent Document 1, when the traveling direction of the ship is at a relatively small angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the speed of the ship is reduced in order to prevent the ship's attitude from becoming unstable when the ship overcomes the waves approaching the ship. For this reason, a configuration is desired that can prevent the ship's attitude from becoming unstable when the ship overcomes the waves approaching the ship without reducing the ship's speed.

This invention has been made to solve the problems described above, and one object of the invention is to provide a ship propulsion system and a ship that can prevent the ship's attitude from becoming unstable when the ship overcomes waves approaching the ship without reducing the ship's speed.

To achieve the above object, a ship propulsion system according to a first aspect of the present invention is a ship propulsion system for propelling a ship, and includes a thrust generating unit that generates thrust for propelling the ship, and a control unit that performs ship travel direction control to change the direction of the thrust generated by the thrust generating unit so as to change the traveling direction of the ship, and the control unit is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the traveling direction of the ship becomes a predetermined angle of equal to or greater than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship.

In the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect of the present invention, as described above, the control unit is configured to control the ship's traveling direction so that, when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship, the traveling direction of the ship becomes a predetermined angle of the first angle or more with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship. This allows the component of the ship's velocity vector that is parallel to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship to be reduced by changing the traveling direction of the ship from less than a relatively small first angle (for example, 30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship to a predetermined angle of the relatively large first angle or more. This allows the speed at which the wave approaching the ship collides with the ship when the ship overcomes the wave approaching the ship to be reduced. In other words, the impact on the ship that occurs when the ship overcomes the wave approaching the ship can be reduced without reducing the ship's speed. As a result, it is possible to suppress the ship's attitude from becoming unstable when the ship overcomes the wave approaching the ship without reducing the ship's speed.

In the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect, preferably, the control unit is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that, when the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the traveling direction of the ship becomes a predetermined angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship that is equal to or greater than the first angle and equal to or less than the second angle that is greater than the first angle. With this configuration, an upper limit of the second angle can be set for the angle of the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship with respect to the traveling direction of the ship changed by the ship travel direction control. This makes it possible to prevent the angle of the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship from becoming excessively large with respect to the traveling direction of the ship. As a result, for example, by setting the second angle to an angle (for example, 60 degrees) smaller than the direction along the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the traveling direction of the ship after being changed to be equal to or greater than the first angle and equal to or less than the second angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship can be made to be a direction that is not along the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship. This helps prevent the ship from rolling when it overcomes waves approaching the ship, which occurs when the ship's direction of travel is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the waves approaching the ship.

In the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to perform ship travel direction control while moving the ship toward the target position when the ship's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode in which the ship automatically navigates toward a set target position and when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, so that the traveling direction of the ship becomes a predetermined angle of at least the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship. With this configuration, when the ship's navigation mode is the automatic navigation mode, even if the traveling direction of the ship is changed by performing ship travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship becomes a predetermined angle of at least the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the ship can be made to travel toward the set target position.

In this case, preferably, when the navigation mode of the ship is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the control unit is configured to alternately perform a one-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a predetermined angle of at least a first angle to one side of the ship's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, and a other-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a predetermined angle of at least a first angle to the other side of the ship's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship. With this configuration, the ship can be made to travel in a zigzag manner so that the final traveling direction of the ship does not change by alternately repeating a state in which the traveling direction of the ship is at one side of the ship's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship and a state in which the traveling direction of the ship is at the other side of the ship's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship. As a result, even if the traveling direction of the ship is changed by performing a ship traveling direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a predetermined angle of at least a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the ship can be easily made to travel toward the set target position.

In the above-mentioned configuration in which the control unit alternately and repeatedly performs one-side ship travel direction control and other-side ship travel direction control, the control unit is preferably configured to alternately and repeatedly perform one-side ship travel direction control, which performs ship travel direction control to change the ship's travel direction by a third angle to one side of the ship's left and right direction so that the ship's travel direction becomes a predetermined angle of at least the first angle to one side of the ship's left and right direction with respect to the direction of travel of the waves approaching the ship, when the ship's navigation mode is automatic navigation mode and the ship's travel direction is less than a first angle to one side of the ship's left and right direction with respect to the direction of travel of the waves approaching the ship, and another-side ship travel direction control, which performs ship travel direction control to change the ship's travel direction by a fourth angle greater than the third angle to the other side of the ship's left and right direction so that the ship's travel direction becomes a predetermined angle of at least the first angle to the other side of the ship's left and right direction with respect to the direction of travel of the waves approaching the ship. With this configuration, even if the direction of the set target position is biased to one side of the ship's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship, the one-side ship traveling direction control that performs ship traveling direction control to change the traveling direction of the ship to one side of the ship's left and right direction by a third angle, and the other-side ship traveling direction control that performs ship traveling direction control to change the traveling direction of the ship to the other side of the ship's left and right direction by a fourth angle greater than the third angle, are alternately repeated, so that the ship can proceed in a zigzag pattern so that the final traveling direction of the ship does not change. As a result, even if the direction of the set target position is biased to one side of the ship's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship, the ship can be easily directed toward the set target position.

In the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect, preferably, the control unit is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that the ship travel direction is at or above the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship when the travel direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship and the height of the waves heading toward the ship is equal to or greater than the first height, and not to perform ship travel direction control even when the travel direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship but the height of the waves heading toward the ship is less than the first height. With this configuration, even when the travel direction of the ship is less than the relatively small first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship, it is possible to avoid performing ship travel direction control in cases where the impact on the ship generated when the ship overcomes the waves heading toward the ship is unlikely to be large, such as when the height of the waves heading toward the ship is less than the relatively small first height, and there is no need to perform ship travel direction control.

In this case, preferably, the control unit is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that the ship travel direction is at or above the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship when the travel direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship and the height of the waves heading toward the ship is equal to or greater than the first height and equal to or less than the second height greater than the first height, and to perform control to notify the ship operator to urge the ship operator to reduce the thrust generated by the thrust generating unit, even if the travel direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship, when the height of the waves heading toward the ship is greater than the second height. With this configuration, an upper limit of the second height can be set for the height of the waves heading toward the ship as a condition for performing ship travel direction control so that the ship travel direction is at a predetermined angle equal to or greater than the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship. This makes it possible to prevent ship travel direction control from being performed to set the ship travel direction to a predetermined angle equal to or greater than the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship when the height of the waves heading toward the ship is excessively large. As a result, when the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship, and even if the height of the waves heading toward the ship is equal to or greater than the first height, if the height of the waves heading toward the ship is excessively large, it is possible to suppress the ship traveling direction control from being performed so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a relatively large first angle or more with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship. In other words, when the ship is likely to sway when it overcomes the waves heading toward the ship, the ship traveling direction control is performed so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a relatively large first angle or more with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship, and it is possible to suppress the ship from swaying when it overcomes the waves heading toward the ship. In addition, when the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship, and the height of the waves heading toward the ship is greater than the second height, it is possible to prompt the ship operator to reduce the propulsive force generated by the propulsive force generating unit. As a result, when the ship operator needs to reduce the propulsive force generated by the propulsive force generating unit, the ship operator can easily recognize that the ship operator needs to reduce the propulsive force generated by the propulsive force generating unit.

In the configuration in which the control unit controls the traveling direction of the ship so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a first angle or more with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship and the height of the waves heading toward the ship is at least a first height and not more than a second height, the control unit is preferably configured to control the traveling direction of the ship so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a predetermined angle of at least a first angle adjusted according to the height of the waves heading toward the ship with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship and the height of the waves heading toward the ship is at least a first height and not more than a second height. With this configuration, the traveling direction of the ship can be controlled so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a predetermined angle of at least a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship, taking into consideration that the ship is more likely to roll when it overcomes the waves heading toward the ship as the height of the waves heading toward the ship increases or as the traveling direction of the ship becomes at a larger angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves heading toward the ship. This makes it possible to control the ship's travel direction so that the ship's travel direction is at a predetermined angle of at least a first angle relative to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship, while suppressing lateral rolling of the ship when the ship overcomes waves approaching the ship.

In the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to perform ship direction control when a ship direction control mode for performing ship direction control is set. With this configuration, when ship direction control is desired, the ship direction control mode can be set so that ship direction control can be performed, and when ship direction control is not desired, the ship direction control mode can be not set so that ship direction control is not performed.

In the vessel propulsion system according to the first aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to perform control to notify the vessel operator that vessel directional control will be performed when vessel directional control is performed. With this configuration, the vessel operator can be notified in advance that vessel directional control will be performed when vessel directional control is performed, thereby preventing the vessel operator from feeling uncomfortable when vessel directional control is suddenly performed without the operator being aware that vessel directional control will be performed.

In the vessel propulsion system according to the first aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to perform control to notify the vessel operator that vessel direction control is being performed when vessel direction control is being performed. With this configuration, the vessel operator can be notified that vessel direction control is being performed while vessel direction control is being performed, thereby preventing the vessel operator from feeling uncomfortable when vessel direction control is being performed without the operator being aware that vessel direction control is being performed.

In the configuration in which the control unit controls the ship's travel direction so that the ship's travel direction is a predetermined angle of at least a first angle and not more than a second angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship, the control unit is preferably configured to control the ship's travel direction so that the ship's travel direction is a predetermined angle of at least a first angle and not more than a second angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship when the ship's travel direction is along a direction perpendicular to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship. With this configuration, the second angle can be set to an angle (e.g., 60 degrees) smaller than the direction perpendicular to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship, thereby changing the ship's travel direction from a direction perpendicular to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship to a direction that is not perpendicular to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship. This can suppress the ship's lateral rolling when it overcomes the waves heading toward the ship, which is caused by the ship's travel direction being perpendicular to the travel direction of the waves heading toward the ship.

In this case, preferably, the control unit is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that the ship's travel direction is at a predetermined angle of more than a first angle and less than a second angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship while traveling toward the target position when the ship's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode in which the ship automatically navigates toward a set target position and when the ship's travel direction is along a direction perpendicular to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship. With this configuration, when the ship's navigation mode is the automatic navigation mode, the ship can be made to travel toward the set target position even if the ship's travel direction is changed by performing ship travel direction control so that the ship's travel direction is at a predetermined angle of more than a first angle and less than a second angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship.

In a configuration in which the control unit controls the ship's traveling direction while moving the ship toward a target position when the ship's traveling direction is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the control unit is preferably configured to alternately perform one-side ship traveling direction control, which controls the ship's traveling direction so that the ship's traveling direction is at a predetermined angle of more than a first angle and less than a second angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, when the ship's navigation mode is automatic navigation mode and the ship's traveling direction is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, and another-side ship traveling direction control, which controls the ship's traveling direction so that the ship's traveling direction is at a predetermined angle of more than a first angle and less than a second angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, and With this configuration, the ship can be made to move in a zigzag pattern so that the final direction of travel of the ship does not change, by repeatedly alternating between a state in which the ship's traveling direction is on one side of the ship's left and right direction relative to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship. This makes it possible to easily move the ship toward a set target position even if the direction of travel of the ship is changed by performing ship traveling direction control so that the direction of travel of the ship is at a predetermined angle of at least a first angle and at most a second angle relative to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship.

In order to achieve the above object, a ship propulsion system according to a second aspect of the present invention is a ship propulsion system for propelling a ship, and includes a thrust generating unit that generates thrust for propelling the ship, and a control unit that performs ship travel direction control to change the direction of the thrust generated by the thrust generating unit so as to change the traveling direction of the ship, and the control unit is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship becomes a predetermined angle of at least the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship when at least one of the following occurs: the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, and the height of the waves approaching the ship is at least a first height.

In the ship propulsion system according to the second aspect of the present invention, as described above, the control unit is configured to control the ship's traveling direction so that the ship's traveling direction becomes a predetermined angle of the first angle or more with respect to the traveling direction of the wave heading toward the ship when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave heading toward the ship, and/or when the height of the wave heading toward the ship is equal to or greater than a first height. As a result, as in the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect, when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a relatively small first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave heading toward the ship, the traveling direction of the ship is changed from less than a relatively small first angle to a relatively large first angle or more with respect to the traveling direction of the wave heading toward the ship, thereby reducing the speed at which the wave heading toward the ship collides with the ship when the ship overcomes the wave heading toward the ship. In addition, when the height of the waves approaching the vessel is equal to or greater than a relatively large first height, and the impact on the vessel is likely to be large when the vessel overcomes the waves approaching the vessel, and the direction of travel of the vessel is at a relatively small angle to the direction of travel of the waves approaching the vessel, for example, by changing the direction of travel of the vessel from a relatively small angle to a relatively large angle to the direction of travel of the waves approaching the vessel, the speed at which the waves collide with the vessel when the vessel overcomes the waves approaching the vessel can be reduced. As a result, as with the vessel propulsion system according to the first aspect described above, it is possible to suppress the vessel's attitude from becoming unstable when the vessel overcomes the waves approaching the vessel without reducing the vessel's speed.

In order to achieve the above object, a ship according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a thrust generating unit that generates thrust for propelling the ship, and a control unit that performs ship travel direction control to change the direction of the thrust generated by the thrust generating unit so as to change the ship's travel direction, and the control unit is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that when the ship's travel direction is less than a first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship, the ship's travel direction is at a predetermined angle of at least the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship.

In the ship according to the third aspect of the present invention, as described above, the control unit is configured to control the ship's traveling direction when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship, so that the traveling direction of the ship becomes a predetermined angle of the first angle or more with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship. As a result, similar to the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect, the speed at which the waves approaching the ship collide with the ship when the ship overcomes the waves approaching the ship can be reduced. As a result, similar to the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect, it is possible to suppress the attitude of the ship from becoming unstable when the ship overcomes the waves approaching the ship without reducing the ship's speed.

In the ship according to the third aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to control the ship's traveling direction when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, so that the traveling direction of the ship becomes a predetermined angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship that is equal to or greater than the first angle and equal to or less than a second angle greater than the first angle. With this configuration, as with the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect, it is possible to prevent the angle of the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship from becoming excessively large with respect to the traveling direction of the ship. As a result, as with the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect, for example, by setting the second angle to an angle smaller than the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, it is possible to prevent the ship from rolling when it overcomes the waves approaching the ship.

In the ship according to the third aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to perform ship travel direction control so that the ship's travel direction becomes a predetermined angle of the first angle or more with respect to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship while traveling toward the target position when the ship's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode in which the ship automatically navigates toward a set target position and when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship. With this configuration, as with the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect, when the ship's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode, the ship can be caused to travel toward the set target position even if the traveling direction of the ship is changed by performing ship travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship becomes a predetermined angle of the first angle or more with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship.

In this case, preferably, when the navigation mode of the ship is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the control unit is configured to alternately perform a one-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a predetermined angle of at least the first angle to one side of the ship's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, and a other-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a predetermined angle of at least the first angle to the other side of the ship's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship. With this configuration, as with the ship propulsion system according to the first aspect, even if the traveling direction of the ship is changed by performing a ship traveling direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a predetermined angle of at least the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the ship can be easily made to move toward the set target position.

In the configuration in which the control unit alternately performs one-side vessel travel direction control and other-side vessel travel direction control, the control unit is preferably configured to alternately perform one-side vessel travel direction control so that the vessel travel direction becomes a third angle, which is a predetermined angle equal to or greater than the first angle, to the other side of the vessel's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the vessel, when the vessel's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the vessel is less than the first angle to one side of the vessel's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the vessel, and the other-side vessel travel direction control so that the vessel travel direction becomes a fourth angle, which is a predetermined angle equal to or greater than the third angle, to one side of the vessel's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the vessel, which is a predetermined angle equal to or greater than the first angle and smaller than the third angle. With this configuration, as with the vessel propulsion system according to the first aspect, even if the direction of the set target position is biased to one side of the vessel's left and right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the vessel, the vessel can be easily made to travel toward the set target position.

According to the present invention, as described above, it is possible to provide a ship propulsion system and a ship that can prevent the ship's attitude from becoming unstable when the ship overcomes waves approaching the ship without reducing the ship's speed.

1 is a block diagram of a marine propulsion system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a schematic diagram of a watercraft according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a side view showing an outboard motor for a marine vessel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining ship travel direction control performed in a ship propulsion system according to one embodiment of the present invention when the ship's travel direction is 0 degrees, which is less than a first angle, with respect to the travel direction of a wave approaching the ship. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining vessel travel direction control performed in a vessel propulsion system according to one embodiment of the present invention when the vessel's travel direction is less than a first angle to one side of the vessel's left or right direction relative to the travel direction of a wave approaching the vessel, in the vessel propulsion system according to one embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram for explaining the condition of the height of waves approaching the vessel when vessel travel direction control is performed when the vessel's travel direction is less than a first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves approaching the vessel in a vessel propulsion system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which a message to the effect that vessel travel direction control is to be performed is displayed on a display unit in the vessel propulsion system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which a mark indicating that vessel travel direction control is being performed is displayed on a display unit in the vessel propulsion system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining ship travel direction control performed in a ship propulsion system according to one embodiment of the present invention when the ship's travel direction is along a direction perpendicular to the travel direction of waves approaching the ship.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

A vessel propulsion system 100 and a vessel 110 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 9. Note that FWD, BWD, L, and R in the figures indicate the front, rear, left (port side), and right (starboard side) of the vessel 110, respectively.

(Ship propulsion system and overall configuration of ship)
As shown in Fig. 1, the vessel propulsion system 100 is provided on a vessel 110. The vessel propulsion system 100 is a system for propelling the vessel 110. The vessel 110 is a relatively small vessel used for, for example, sightseeing, fishing, and the like.

The vessel propulsion system 100 (vessel 110) includes a hull 10 and an outboard motor 20. As shown in FIG. 2, only one outboard motor 20 is attached to the stern 11 of the hull 10.

(Hull configuration)
As shown in FIG. 1 , the hull 10 includes an operation unit 13 , a control unit 14 , a display unit 15 , and a detection unit 16 .

The operation unit 13 is configured to accept user operations for piloting (maneuvering) the vessel 110. The operation unit 13 includes a remote controller, a steering wheel, and a joystick. The operation unit 13 accepts operations for setting the navigation mode of the vessel 110. The navigation modes of the vessel 110 include an automatic navigation mode in which the vessel 110 automatically navigates toward a target position G set by the operator of the vessel 110, a vessel travel direction control mode described below, and the like.

The control unit 14 is configured to control the ECU (Engine Control Unit) 28 and SCU (Steering Control Unit) 29 of the outboard motor 20 based on operations on the operation unit 13. The control unit 14 is a control circuit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.

The display unit 15 is configured to display information about the vessel 110. The information about the vessel 110 includes, for example, the speed of the vessel 110, the RPM of the engine 22 of the outboard motor 20, the shift state of the outboard motor 20, the navigation mode of the vessel 110, and the like. The display unit 15 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The display unit 15 may be a touch panel. In this case, the display unit 15, which is a touch panel, may be configured to receive user operations to steer (operate) the vessel 110, instead of the operation unit 13.

The detection unit 16 is configured to detect the traveling direction of waves W (see FIG. 4) approaching the ship 110 relative to the traveling direction of the ship 110, the height H (see FIG. 6) of the waves W approaching the ship 110, etc. The detection unit 16 includes, for example, at least one of a camera, a laser, etc.

(Outboard motor configuration)
3, the outboard motor 20 includes an outboard motor body 20a and a bracket 20b. The outboard motor body 20a is attached to a transom 12 provided at the stern 11 of the hull 10 via the bracket 20b.

The outboard motor 20 includes an engine 22 that drives a propeller 21 that generates thrust. In other words, the outboard motor 20 is an engine-type outboard motor configured to drive the propeller 21 with the engine 22. Specifically, the outboard motor body 20a includes the engine 22, a drive shaft 23, a gear unit 24, a propeller shaft 25, and the propeller 21. The engine 22 is an internal combustion engine that generates driving force. The driving force of the engine 22 is transmitted to the propeller 21 via the drive shaft 23, the gear unit 24, and the propeller shaft 25. The propeller 21 rotates in water by the transmitted driving force of the engine 22, thereby generating a thrust for propelling the ship 110. The propeller 21 is an example of a "thrust generating unit" in the claims.

The outboard motor body 20a includes a shift actuator 26 that switches the shift state of the outboard motor 20. The shift actuator 26 is configured to switch the shift state of the outboard motor 20 between a forward state, a reverse state, and a neutral state by switching the meshing of the gear portion 24. The forward state is a state in which the driving force of the engine 22 is transmitted to the propeller 21 so as to generate thrust from the propeller 21 to the FWD side. The reverse state is a state in which the driving force of the engine 22 is transmitted to the propeller 21 so as to generate thrust from the propeller 21 to the BWD side. The neutral state is a state in which the driving force of the engine 22 is not transmitted to the propeller 21 so as not to generate thrust from the propeller 21.

The outboard motor 20 includes a steering device 27 for changing the direction of the propulsive force from the propeller 21 so as to change the traveling direction of the ship 110. Specifically, the steering device 27 is provided on the bracket 20b. The steering device 27 includes a steering shaft 27a extending in the vertical direction. The outboard motor body 20a is configured to be able to rotate left and right with respect to the bracket 20b around the steering shaft 27a by the steering device 27. When the outboard motor body 20a rotates left and right around the steering shaft 27a, the direction of the propeller 21 also rotates left and right. This changes the direction of the propulsive force from the propeller 21. In other words, the outboard motor 20 is steered.

As shown in FIG. 1, the outboard motor 20 includes an ECU 28 and an SCU 29. The ECU 28 is configured to control the drive of the engine 22 and the drive of the shift actuator 26 based on the control of the control unit 14. The SCU 29 is configured to control the drive of the steering device 27 based on the control of the control unit 14. In other words, the control unit 14 is configured to perform vessel travel direction control, which changes the direction of the propulsive force of the propeller 21 so as to change the travel direction of the vessel 110, by controlling the drive of the steering device 27 via the SCU 29. Each of the ECU 28 and the SCU 29 is a control circuit including a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc.

(Vessel travel direction control performed when the travel direction of the vessel is at an angle less than a first angle with respect to the travel direction of a wave approaching the vessel)
As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 14 (see FIG. 1) is configured to perform vessel travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the vessel 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 that is equal to or larger than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and equal to or smaller than a second angle A2 (60 degrees) that is larger than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) when the traveling direction of the vessel 110 is less than a first angle A1 (30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110. Note that FIG. 4 illustrates a case in which the traveling direction of the vessel 110 is 0 degrees with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 before the control unit 14 performs vessel travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the vessel 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 that is equal to or larger than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and equal to or smaller than the second angle A2 (60 degrees). Also, FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which the predetermined angle θ is 45 degrees.

The control unit 14 (see FIG. 1) is configured to control the ship 110's traveling direction while moving the ship 110 toward the target position G, when the ship 110's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode in which the ship 110 automatically navigates toward the set target position G, and when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than a first angle A1 (30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and equal to or less than a second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. Specifically, when the ship 110's navigation mode is the automatic navigation mode, the traveling direction of the ship 110 is generally toward the set target position G. Therefore, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode, if the direction of travel of the ship 110 is changed, for example, just once by the control unit 14 performing ship direction control so that the direction of travel of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is greater than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the direction of travel of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the direction of travel of the ship 110 will become a direction different from the direction toward the set target position G. Therefore, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than a first angle A1 (30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the control unit 14 is configured to alternately repeat one-side ship traveling direction control that performs ship traveling direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ of more than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) to one side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, and another-side ship traveling direction control that performs ship traveling direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ of more than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) to the other side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. In FIG. 4, before the control unit 14 performs vessel travel direction control so that the vessel 110's travel direction is at a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and equal to or less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110, the vessel 110's travel direction is 0 degrees with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110, so the predetermined angle θ in the one-side vessel travel direction control and the predetermined angle θ in the other-side vessel travel direction control are equal.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode, the direction of the set target position G may be biased to one side of the left or right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. FIG. 5 shows an example in which the direction of the set target position G is biased by an angle α to the L side of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. Even in such a case, the control unit 14 (see FIG. 1) needs to perform ship traveling direction control while moving the ship 110 toward the target position G so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ of more than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. Therefore, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode and when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than a first angle A1 to one side in the left-right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the control unit 14 changes the traveling direction of the ship 110 to one side in the left-right direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and equal to or less than a second angle A2 (60 degrees) to one side in the left-right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. The system is configured to alternately repeat a one-side vessel traveling direction control in which a vessel traveling direction control is performed to change the traveling direction of the vessel 110 by a third angle A3, and a other-side vessel traveling direction control in which a vessel traveling direction control is performed to change the traveling direction of the vessel 110 by a fourth angle A4 larger than the third angle A3 to the other side in the left-right direction of the vessel 110 so that the traveling direction of the vessel 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or larger than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and equal to or smaller than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110. Note that since the traveling direction of the vessel 110 (the direction of the set target position G) is less than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) to one side in the left-right direction of the vessel 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110, a distance L1 of the vessel 110 traveling while the one-side vessel traveling direction control is being performed is greater than a distance L2 of the vessel 110 traveling while the other-side vessel traveling direction control is being performed. That is, the time during which one-side vessel travel direction control is being performed is longer than the time during which the other-side vessel travel direction control is being performed. Note that FIG. 5 shows an example in which the angle α, the third angle A3, and the fourth angle A4 are 15 degrees, 30 degrees, and 60 degrees, respectively.

As shown in Figure 6, the control unit 14 (see Figure 1) is configured to control the ship's traveling direction so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is greater than or equal to the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and less than or equal to the second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 only when the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 satisfies a predetermined condition, even if the traveling direction of the ship 110 is greater than or equal to 0 degrees and less than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. Specifically, the control unit 14 is configured to perform vessel travel direction control such that the traveling direction of the vessel 110 is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and equal to or less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the waves W heading toward the vessel 110 when the traveling direction of the vessel 110 is equal to or greater than 0 degree and less than a first angle A1 (30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the waves W heading toward the vessel 110 and the height H of the waves W heading toward the vessel 110 is equal to or greater than the first height H1 and equal to or less than a second height H2 that is greater than the first height H1. The first height H1 and the second height H2 are set according to the size, shape, etc. of the vessel 110. On the other hand, the control unit 14 is configured not to control the vessel travel direction when the height H of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 is less than the first height H1 or the height H of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 is greater than the second height H2, even if the traveling direction of the vessel 110 is less than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110. Also, the control unit 14 is configured to control to notify the vessel operator to encourage the vessel operator to reduce the propulsive force of the propeller 21, even if the traveling direction of the vessel 110 is less than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110, when the height H of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 is greater than the second height H2. The notification to the vessel operator is performed, for example, by displaying a message, a mark, or the like on the display unit 15 (see FIG. 1).

The control unit 14 (see FIG. 1) is configured to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is a predetermined angle θ of the first angle A1 or more adjusted according to the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 and the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 is equal to or greater than the first height H1 and equal to or less than the second height H2. Specifically, when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 and the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 is equal to or greater than the first height H1 and equal to or less than the second height H2, the control unit 14 controls the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the predetermined angle θ becomes smaller as the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 becomes larger. That is, when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, and when the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 is equal to or greater than the first height H1 and equal to or less than the second height H2, the control unit 14 controls the traveling direction of the ship so that the closer the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 is to the first height H1, the closer the predetermined angle θ is to the second angle A2, and the closer the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 is to the second height H2, the closer the predetermined angle θ is to the first angle A1.

As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 14 (see FIG. 1) is configured to perform control to notify the helmsman that the vessel travel direction control is being performed when the vessel travel direction control is being performed. Specifically, the control unit 14 performs control to display a message 15a indicating that the vessel travel direction control is being performed on the display unit 15 as a control to notify the helmsman that the vessel travel direction control is being performed when the vessel travel direction control is being performed. Also, as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 14 is configured to perform control to notify the helmsman that the vessel travel direction control is being performed when the vessel travel direction control is being performed. Specifically, the control unit 14 performs control to display characters 15b indicating that the vessel travel direction control is being performed on the display unit 15 as a control to notify the helmsman that the vessel travel direction control is being performed. Note that the control unit 14 is configured to perform the vessel travel direction control when a vessel travel direction control mode for performing the vessel travel direction control is set. The vessel travel direction control mode is set, for example, by the helmsman operating the operation unit 13. FIGS. 7 and 8 show a state in which the vessel travel direction control mode is set.

(Ship travel direction control when the ship's travel direction is perpendicular to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship)
As shown in Fig. 9, the control unit 14 (see Fig. 1) is configured to perform vessel travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the vessel 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and equal to or less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the vessel 110, when the traveling direction of the vessel 110 is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the vessel 110. Note that Fig. 9 illustrates a case in which the traveling direction of the vessel 110 is a direction perpendicular (90 degrees) to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the vessel 110 before the control unit 14 performs vessel travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the vessel 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and equal to or less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the vessel 110.

The control unit 14 (see FIG. 1) is configured to control the ship travel direction so that the ship travel direction is a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and equal to or less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 while moving the ship 110 toward the target position G when the ship 110's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode in which the ship 110 automatically navigates toward the set target position G and the traveling direction of the ship 110 is a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 (90 degrees). Specifically, as described above, when the ship 110's navigation mode is the automatic navigation mode, the ship 110's traveling direction is generally toward the set target position G. Therefore, as described above, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode, if the direction of travel of the ship 110 is changed, for example, just once by the control unit 14 performing ship direction control so that the direction of travel of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is greater than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the direction of travel of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the direction of travel of the ship 110 will become a direction different from the direction toward the set target position G. Therefore, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship 110 is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the waves W approaching the ship 110, the control unit 14 is configured to alternately perform one-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ of more than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) to one side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the waves W approaching the ship 110, and another-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ of more than the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and less than the second angle A2 (60 degrees) to the other side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the waves W approaching the ship 110. In FIG. 9, before the control unit 14 performs vessel travel direction control so that the vessel 110's travel direction is at a predetermined angle θ greater than or equal to the first angle A1 (30 degrees) and less than or equal to the second angle A2 (60 degrees) with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110, the vessel 110's travel direction is perpendicular (90 degrees) to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110, so the predetermined angle θ in the one-side vessel travel direction control and the predetermined angle θ in the other-side vessel travel direction control are equal.

(Effects of the embodiment)
In this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the control unit 14 is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. As a result, by changing the traveling direction of the ship 110 from a relatively small first angle A1 (30 degrees) or less with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 to a relatively large first angle A1 or more with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the component parallel to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 of the velocity vector of the ship 110 can be reduced. As a result, when the ship 110 overcomes the wave W approaching the ship 110, the speed at which the wave W approaching the ship 110 collides with the ship 110 can be reduced. In other words, the impact on the ship 110 that occurs when the ship 110 overcomes the wave W approaching the ship 110 can be reduced without reducing the speed of the ship 110. As a result, the attitude of the ship 110 can be prevented from becoming unstable when the ship 110 overcomes the waves W approaching the ship 110, without reducing the speed of the ship 110.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the control unit 14 is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that, when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 and equal to or less than the second angle A2 that is greater than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. This makes it possible to set an upper limit of the second angle A2 on the angle of the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the ship 110 changed by the ship travel direction control. This makes it possible to prevent the angle of the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the ship 110 from becoming excessively large. As a result, by setting the second angle A2 to an angle (60 degrees) smaller than the direction along the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the ship 110, the traveling direction of the ship 110 after being changed to be equal to or larger than the first angle A1 and equal to or smaller than the second angle A2 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the ship 110 can be made to be a direction that is not perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the ship 110. As a result, it is possible to suppress lateral rolling of the ship 110 when the ship 110 overcomes the wave W heading toward the ship 110, which is caused by the traveling direction of the ship 110 being a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the ship 110.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is an automatic navigation mode in which the ship 110 automatically navigates toward the set target position G, and when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the control unit 14 is configured to perform ship traveling direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 while moving the ship 110 toward the target position G. As a result, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode, even if the traveling direction of the ship 110 is changed by performing ship traveling direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the ship 110 can be moved toward the set target position G.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the control unit 14 is configured to alternately perform a one-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is a predetermined angle θ of the first angle A1 or more to one side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, and a other-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is a predetermined angle θ of the first angle A1 or more to the other side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. As a result, by alternately repeating a state in which the traveling direction of the ship 110 is one side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 and a state in which the traveling direction of the ship 110 is the other side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the ship 110 can be made to proceed in a zigzag manner so that the final traveling direction of the ship 110 does not change. This allows the ship 110 to easily navigate toward the set target position G even if the direction of travel of the ship 110 is changed by controlling the direction of travel of the ship 110 so that the direction of travel of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 relative to the direction of travel of the wave W approaching the ship 110.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 to one side in the left-right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the control unit 14 is configured to alternately repeat a one-side ship traveling direction control that performs a ship traveling direction control to change the traveling direction of the ship 110 by a third angle A3 to one side in the left-right direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is greater than or equal to the first angle A1 to one side in the left-right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, and a other-side ship traveling direction control that performs a ship traveling direction control to change the traveling direction of the ship 110 by a fourth angle A4 greater than the third angle A3 to the other side in the left-right direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is greater than or equal to the first angle A1 to the other side in the left-right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. As a result, even if the direction of the set target position G is biased to one side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the one-side ship traveling direction control that performs ship traveling direction control to change the traveling direction of the ship 110 to one side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 by the third angle A3, and the other-side ship traveling direction control that performs ship traveling direction control to change the traveling direction of the ship 110 to the other side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 by the fourth angle A4 larger than the third angle A3 are alternately repeated, so that the ship 110 can proceed in a zigzag manner so that the final traveling direction of the ship 110 does not change. As a result, even if the direction of the set target position G is biased to one side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the ship 110 can be easily advanced toward the set target position G.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the control unit 14 is configured to perform vessel travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the vessel 110 is at the first angle A1 or more with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 when the traveling direction of the vessel 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 and the height H of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 is equal to or greater than the first height H1. Furthermore, the control unit 14 is configured not to perform vessel travel direction control when the traveling direction of the vessel 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 and the height H of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 is less than the first height H1. As a result, even if the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than a relatively small first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, it is possible to avoid performing ship traveling direction control in cases where the impact on the ship 110 generated when the ship 110 overcomes the wave W approaching the ship 110 is unlikely to be large, such as when the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 is less than a relatively small first height H1, and there is no need to perform ship traveling direction control.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the control unit 14 is configured to perform vessel travel direction control so that the vessel 110 travels at an angle equal to or greater than the first angle A1 with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 when the travel direction of the vessel 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 and when the height H of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 is equal to or greater than the first height H1 and equal to or less than the second height H2 that is greater than the first height H1. Furthermore, even when the travel direction of the vessel 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110, when the height H of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 is greater than the second height H2, the control unit 14 is configured to perform control to notify the vessel operator to encourage the vessel operator to reduce the propulsive force of the propeller 21 without performing vessel travel direction control. As a result, an upper limit of the second height H2 can be set for the height H of the wave W heading toward the ship 110 as a condition for performing ship traveling direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ that is a relatively large first angle A1 or more with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the ship 110. As a result, when the height H of the wave W heading toward the ship 110 is excessively large, it is possible to suppress the ship traveling direction control from being performed so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ that is a relatively large first angle A1 or more with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the ship 110. As a result, even if the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the ship 110 and the height H of the wave W heading toward the ship 110 is the first height H1 or more, when the height H of the wave W heading toward the ship 110 is excessively large, it is possible to suppress the ship traveling direction control from being performed so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a relatively large first angle A1 or more with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W heading toward the ship 110. That is, when the ship 110 is likely to roll when the ship 110 overcomes the waves W approaching the ship 110, the ship travel direction control is performed so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a relatively large first angle A1 or more with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship 110, and the ship 110 can be prevented from rolling when the ship 110 overcomes the waves W approaching the ship 110. Also, when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the waves W approaching the ship 110 and the height H of the waves W approaching the ship 110 is greater than the second height H2, the ship operator can be prompted to reduce the propulsive force of the propeller 21. This allows the ship operator to easily recognize that the ship operator needs to reduce the propulsive force of the propeller 21 when the ship operator needs to reduce the propulsive force of the propeller 21.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the control unit 14 is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ of the first angle A1 or more adjusted according to the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 and the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 is equal to or greater than the first height H1 and equal to or less than the second height H2. As a result, as the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 becomes larger, or as the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a larger angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the ship 110 becomes more likely to roll when it overcomes the wave W approaching the ship 110. In consideration of this, ship travel direction control can be performed so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ of the first angle A1 or more with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. This makes it possible to control the ship's travel direction so that the direction of travel of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 relative to the direction of travel of the waves W approaching the ship 110, while suppressing lateral rolling of the ship 110 when the ship 110 overcomes the waves W approaching the ship 110.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the control unit 14 is configured to perform ship direction control when a ship direction control mode that performs ship direction control is set. As a result, when ship direction control is desired, the ship direction control mode can be set so that ship direction control can be performed, and when ship direction control is not desired, the ship direction control mode can be not set so that ship direction control is not performed.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the control unit 14 is configured to perform control to notify the vessel helm that vessel helm control will be performed when vessel helm control is to be performed. This makes it possible to notify the vessel helm in advance that vessel helm control will be performed when vessel helm control is to be performed, thereby preventing the vessel helm from feeling uncomfortable when vessel helm control is suddenly performed without the vessel helm being aware that vessel helm control will be performed.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the control unit 14 is configured to perform control to notify the vessel helm that vessel heading control is being performed when vessel heading control is being performed. This makes it possible to notify the vessel helm that vessel heading control is being performed while vessel heading control is being performed, thereby preventing the vessel helm from feeling uncomfortable when vessel heading control is being performed without the vessel helm being aware that vessel heading control is being performed.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the control unit 14 is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 and equal to or less than the second angle A2 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W toward the ship 110 when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W toward the ship 110. As a result, by setting the second angle A2 to an angle (60 degrees) smaller than the direction along the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W toward the ship 110, the traveling direction of the ship 110 can be changed from a direction along the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W toward the ship 110 to a direction that is not along the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W toward the ship 110. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of lateral rolling of the ship 110 when the ship 110 overcomes the wave W toward the ship 110 due to the traveling direction of the ship 110 being along the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W toward the ship 110.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is an automatic navigation mode in which the ship 110 automatically navigates toward the set target position G, and when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the control unit 14 is configured to perform ship traveling direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 and equal to or less than the second angle A2 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 while moving the ship 110 toward the target position G. As a result, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode, the ship 110 can be moved toward the set target position G even if the traveling direction of the ship 110 is changed by performing ship traveling direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 and equal to or less than the second angle A2 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship 110 is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the control unit 14 is configured to alternately perform one-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ of at least the first angle A1 and not more than the second angle A2 to one side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, and another-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ of at least the first angle A1 and not more than the second angle A2 to the other side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110. As a result, the ship 110 can be made to move in a zigzag pattern so that the final moving direction of the ship 110 does not change, by alternately repeating a state in which the moving direction of the ship 110 is on one side of the ship 110 in the left-right direction of the ship 110 and a state in which the moving direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 is on the other side. As a result, even if the moving direction of the ship 110 is changed by performing ship moving direction control so that the moving direction of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 and equal to or less than the second angle A2 with respect to the moving direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the ship 110 can be easily made to move toward the set target position G.

[Modification]
The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the description of the above embodiments, and further includes all modifications (alternatives) within the meaning and scope of the claims.

For example, in the above embodiment, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship 110 is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the control unit 14 is configured to alternately perform one-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ of at least the first angle A1 and not more than the second angle A2 to one side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, and another-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ of at least the first angle A1 and not more than the second angle A2 to the other side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured not to alternately and repeatedly perform the one-side vessel travel direction control and the other-side vessel travel direction control when the vessel's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode and the vessel's traveling direction is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the vessel.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured to control the ship's traveling direction so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 and equal to or less than the second angle A2 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 while moving the ship 110 toward the target position G when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is an automatic navigation mode in which the ship 110 automatically navigates toward the set target position G and the traveling direction of the ship 110 is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured to control the ship's traveling direction so that the traveling direction of the ship is a predetermined angle that is equal to or greater than the first angle and equal to or less than the second angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship, regardless of the target position, when the navigation mode of the ship is not the automatic navigation mode, even if the traveling direction of the ship is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship. In this case, the control unit does not need to alternately and repeatedly perform the one-side vessel travel direction control and the other-side vessel travel direction control.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured to control the ship's traveling direction when the ship's traveling direction is perpendicular to the traveling direction of the waves W approaching the ship 110, so that the ship's traveling direction is at a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 and equal to or less than the second angle A2 with respect to the traveling direction of the waves W approaching the ship 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured not to control the ship's traveling direction when the ship's traveling direction is perpendicular to the traveling direction of the waves W approaching the ship.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 performs control to notify the operator that vessel travel direction control is being performed by displaying characters 13b indicating that vessel travel direction control is being performed on the display unit 15, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may perform control other than displaying characters indicating that vessel travel direction control is being performed on the display unit, such as control to generate a sound indicating that vessel travel direction control is being performed, as a control to notify the operator that vessel travel direction control is being performed.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured to perform control to notify the vessel operator that vessel travel direction control is being performed when vessel travel direction control is being performed, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured not to perform control to notify the vessel operator that vessel travel direction control is being performed when vessel travel direction control is being performed.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 performs control to display a message 13a indicating that vessel heading control is being performed on the display unit 15 as control to notify the vessel operator that vessel heading control is being performed when vessel heading control is being performed, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit does not have to perform control to display a message indicating that vessel heading control is being performed on the display unit as control to notify the vessel operator that vessel heading control is being performed when vessel heading control is being performed. In addition, the control unit may perform control other than displaying a message indicating that vessel heading control is being performed on the display unit, such as control to generate a sound indicating that vessel heading control is being performed, as control to notify the vessel operator that vessel heading control is being performed when vessel heading control is being performed.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured to perform control to notify the vessel operator that vessel travel direction control is being performed when vessel travel direction control is being performed, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured not to perform control to notify the vessel operator that vessel travel direction control is being performed when vessel travel direction control is being performed.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured to perform vessel travel direction control when a vessel travel direction control mode that performs vessel travel direction control is set, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured to perform vessel travel direction control regardless of the vessel travel direction control mode.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 becomes a predetermined angle θ of the first angle A1 or more adjusted according to the height H of the wave W approaching the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 and the height of the wave W approaching the ship 110 is equal to or greater than the first height H1 and equal to or less than the second height H2, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured to control the traveling direction of the ship so that the traveling direction of the ship becomes a predetermined angle of the first angle or more with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship, regardless of the height of the wave approaching the ship, when the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship and the height of the wave approaching the ship is equal to or greater than the first height and equal to or less than the second height.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured to control the vessel 110 to prompt the vessel operator to reduce the propulsive force of the propeller 21 when the height H of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 is greater than the second height H2, without performing vessel directional control, even when the vessel 110 is traveling at an angle less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured to not perform vessel directional control and not perform control to prompt the vessel operator to reduce the propulsive force of the propeller when the height H of the wave W approaching the vessel is greater than the second height, even when the vessel 110 is traveling at an angle less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the vessel.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured to perform vessel travel direction control so that the vessel 110 travels at an angle greater than or equal to the first angle A1 with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 when the travel direction of the vessel 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 and when the height of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 is greater than or equal to the first height H1 and less than or equal to a second height H2 that is greater than the first height H1. The control unit 14 is configured not to perform vessel travel direction control when the travel direction of the vessel 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 but when the height of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 is less than the first height H1 and when the height of the wave W approaching the vessel 110 is greater than the second height H2, even if the travel direction of the vessel 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110; however, the present invention is not limited thereto. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured to control the traveling direction of the ship so that, when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the traveling direction of the ship is at an angle equal to or greater than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, regardless of the height of the waves approaching the ship.

In addition, in the above embodiment, when the navigation mode of the ship 110 is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, the control unit 14 is configured to alternately perform one-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ of at least the first angle A1 to one side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, and another-side ship traveling direction control to control the traveling direction of the ship 110 so that the traveling direction of the ship 110 is at a predetermined angle θ of at least the first angle A1 to the other side of the left and right direction of the ship 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured not to alternately and repeatedly perform the one-side vessel travel direction control and the other-side vessel travel direction control when the vessel's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode and the vessel's traveling direction is less than a first angle with respect to the traveling direction of a wave approaching the vessel.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that the ship 110 travels toward the target position G at a predetermined angle θ equal to or greater than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 while moving the ship 110 toward the target position G when the ship 110's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode in which the ship 110 automatically navigates toward the set target position G and when the traveling direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured to perform ship travel direction control so that the ship's traveling direction is a predetermined angle equal to or greater than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave W approaching the ship, regardless of the target position, when the ship's navigation mode is not the automatic navigation mode, even if the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship. In this case, the control unit does not need to alternately and repeatedly perform the one-side ship travel direction control and the other-side ship travel direction control.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured to perform vessel travel direction control so that the vessel 110 travel direction is at a predetermined angle θ that is equal to or greater than the first angle A1 and equal to or less than the second angle A2 that is greater than the first angle A1 when the vessel 110 travel direction is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel 110, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured to perform vessel travel direction control so that the vessel travel direction is at a predetermined angle equal to or greater than the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the vessel, without setting an upper limit of the second angle on the angle of the travel direction of the wave approaching the vessel with respect to the travel direction of the vessel changed by the vessel travel direction control, when the travel direction of the vessel is less than the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the wave approaching the vessel.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured to control the ship's travel direction so that the ship's travel direction is a predetermined angle θ of the first angle A1 or more with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110 when the travel direction of the ship 110 is less than the first angle A1 with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the ship 110, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit may be configured to control the ship's travel direction so that the ship's travel direction is a predetermined angle of the first angle or more with respect to the travel direction of the wave W approaching the ship when the height of the wave approaching the ship is equal to or greater than the first height, regardless of the travel direction of the wave approaching the ship. That is, the control unit may be configured to control the ship's travel direction so that the ship's travel direction is a predetermined angle of the first angle or more with respect to the travel direction of the wave approaching the ship when at least one of the cases where the travel direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the wave approaching the ship and the case where the height of the wave approaching the ship is equal to or greater than the first height. As a result, in the same manner as in the above embodiment, when the traveling direction of the ship is less than a relatively small first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the traveling direction of the ship can be changed from a relatively small first angle to a predetermined angle of a relatively large first angle or more with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, thereby reducing the speed at which the waves approaching the ship collide with the ship when the ship overcomes the waves approaching the ship. Also, when the height of the waves approaching the ship is a relatively large first height or more, and the impact on the ship that occurs when the ship overcomes the waves approaching the ship is likely to be large, and when the traveling direction of the ship is at a relatively small angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, for example, by changing the traveling direction of the ship from a relatively small angle to a relatively large angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the speed at which the waves approaching the ship collide with the ship when the ship overcomes the waves approaching the ship can be reduced. As a result, as in the above embodiment, the attitude of the ship can be prevented from becoming unstable when the ship overcomes the waves approaching the ship without reducing the speed of the ship.

In the above embodiment, the first angle A1 and the second angle A2 are 30 degrees and 60 degrees, respectively, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the first angle A1 may be an angle other than 30 degrees, and the second angle A2 may be an angle other than 60 degrees.

In the above embodiment, the outboard motor 20 is an engine-type outboard motor configured to drive the propeller 21 by the engine 22, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the outboard motor may be an electric outboard motor configured to drive the propeller by an electric motor.

In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which only one outboard motor 20 was attached to the stern 11 of the hull 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, multiple outboard motors (two or more) may be attached to the stern of the hull.

14 Control unit 21 Propeller (thrust generating unit)
100 Ship propulsion system 110 Ship A1 First angle A2 Second angle A3 Third angle A4 Fourth angle G Target position H Height (of waves approaching the ship) H1 First height H2 Second height W Wave (approaching the ship) θ Predetermined angle

Claims (20)

1. A marine vessel propulsion system for propelling a marine vessel, comprising:
a thrust generating unit that generates a thrust for propelling the vessel;
a control unit that performs vessel travel direction control to change a direction of the thrust generated by the thrust generating unit so as to change the travel direction of the vessel,
The control unit is configured to perform ship travel direction control when the ship's travel direction is less than a first angle with respect to the travel direction of waves approaching the ship, so that the ship's travel direction is at a predetermined angle greater than or equal to the first angle with respect to the travel direction of waves approaching the ship. The ship propulsion system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to perform the ship travel direction control so that, when the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship, the traveling direction of the ship becomes the predetermined angle that is equal to or greater than the first angle and equal to or less than a second angle that is greater than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship. The ship propulsion system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to perform the ship travel direction control so that the ship's travel direction is at the predetermined angle, which is equal to or greater than the first angle, relative to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship while moving the ship toward the target position when the ship's travel mode is an automatic travel mode in which the ship automatically travels toward a set target position and when the travel direction of the ship is less than the first angle relative to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship. The ship propulsion system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit is configured to alternately perform a one-side ship travel direction control that performs the ship travel direction control so that the ship travel direction is at the predetermined angle of at least the first angle to one side of the left and right direction of the ship relative to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship when the ship's navigation mode is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship, and a other-side ship travel direction control that performs the ship travel direction control so that the ship travel direction is at the predetermined angle of at least the first angle to the other side of the left and right direction of the ship relative to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship. The ship propulsion system according to claim 4, wherein the control unit alternately performs the one-side ship travel direction control, which performs the ship travel direction control to change the ship's travel direction by a third angle to one side in the left-right direction of the ship so that the ship's travel direction is at the predetermined angle equal to or greater than the first angle to one side in the left-right direction of the ship with respect to the travel direction of the wave approaching the ship, when the ship's navigation mode is the automatic navigation mode and the travel direction of the ship is less than the first angle to one side in the left-right direction of the ship with respect to the travel direction of the wave approaching the ship, and the other-side ship travel direction control, which performs the ship travel direction control to change the ship's travel direction by a fourth angle greater than the third angle to the other side in the left-right direction of the ship so that the ship's travel direction is at the predetermined angle equal to or greater than the first angle to the other side in the left-right direction of the ship with respect to the travel direction of the wave approaching the ship. The control unit is
When the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship and the height of the wave approaching the ship is equal to or greater than the first height, the ship traveling direction control is performed so that the traveling direction of the ship is at an angle equal to or greater than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship;
The ship propulsion system of claim 1, wherein the ship travel direction control is not performed when the height of the wave approaching the ship is less than the first height, even if the ship's travel direction is less than the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the wave approaching the ship. The control unit is
When the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship, and when the height of the wave approaching the ship is equal to or greater than the first height and equal to or less than a second height greater than the first height, the ship traveling direction control is performed so that the traveling direction of the ship is at an angle equal to or greater than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship;
The ship propulsion system of claim 6, wherein even when the direction of travel of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the direction of travel of a wave approaching the ship, when the height of the wave approaching the ship is greater than the second height, the ship travel direction control is not performed, and instead, control is performed to notify the ship operator to encourage the ship operator to reduce the propulsive force generated by the propulsion force generating unit. The ship propulsion system according to claim 7, wherein the control unit is configured to control the ship's traveling direction so that, when the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, and when the height of the waves approaching the ship is equal to or greater than the first height and equal to or less than the second height, the traveling direction of the ship is at the predetermined angle equal to or greater than the first angle adjusted according to the height of the waves approaching the ship. The vessel propulsion system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to perform the vessel travel direction control when a vessel travel direction control mode for performing the vessel travel direction control is set. The vessel propulsion system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to perform control to notify the vessel operator that the vessel travel direction control is to be performed when the vessel travel direction control is performed. The vessel propulsion system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to control the vessel to notify the vessel operator that the vessel travel direction control is being performed when the vessel travel direction control is being performed. The ship propulsion system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to control the ship's traveling direction so that, when the traveling direction of the ship is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, the traveling direction of the ship is at the predetermined angle that is equal to or greater than the first angle and equal to or less than the second angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship. The ship propulsion system according to claim 12, wherein the control unit is configured to perform the ship travel direction control so that the ship travel direction is at the predetermined angle, greater than or equal to the first angle and less than or equal to the second angle, relative to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship while moving the ship toward the target position when the ship's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode in which the ship automatically navigates toward a set target position and when the traveling direction of the ship is a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship. The ship propulsion system according to claim 13, wherein the control unit is configured to alternately perform a one-side ship travel direction control that performs the ship travel direction control so that the ship travel direction is at the predetermined angle of at least the first angle and not more than the second angle to one side of the left and right direction of the ship with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship when the navigation mode of the ship is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship is along a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship, and a other-side ship travel direction control that performs the ship travel direction control so that the ship travel direction is at the predetermined angle of at least the first angle and not more than the second angle to the other side of the left and right direction of the ship with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship. 1. A marine vessel propulsion system for propelling a marine vessel, comprising:
a thrust generating unit that generates a thrust for propelling the vessel;
a control unit that performs vessel travel direction control to change a direction of the thrust generated by the thrust generating unit so as to change the travel direction of the vessel,
The control unit is configured to perform ship travel direction control so that the ship's travel direction is at a predetermined angle of greater than or equal to the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship when at least one of the following conditions is met: the ship's travel direction is less than a first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship, and the height of the waves approaching the ship is greater than or equal to a first height. a thrust generating unit that generates thrust for propelling the vessel;
a control unit that performs vessel travel direction control to change a direction of the thrust generated by the thrust generating unit so as to change the travel direction of the vessel,
The control unit is configured to perform ship travel direction control when the ship's travel direction is less than a first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship, so that the ship's travel direction is at a predetermined angle greater than or equal to the first angle with respect to the travel direction of the waves approaching the ship. The ship according to claim 16, wherein the control unit is configured to control the ship's traveling direction when the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship, so that the traveling direction of the ship becomes the predetermined angle that is equal to or greater than the first angle and equal to or less than a second angle that is greater than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship. The ship according to claim 16, wherein the control unit is configured to control the ship's traveling direction while moving the ship toward the target position, when the ship's navigation mode is an automatic navigation mode in which the ship automatically navigates toward a set target position, and when the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship, so that the traveling direction of the ship is at the predetermined angle of at least the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the waves approaching the ship. The ship according to claim 18, wherein the control unit is configured to alternately perform a one-side ship travel direction control that performs the ship travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship is at the predetermined angle of at least the first angle to one side of the left and right direction of the ship with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship when the navigation mode of the ship is the automatic navigation mode and when the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship, and a other-side ship travel direction control that performs the ship travel direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship is at the predetermined angle of at least the first angle to the other side of the left and right direction of the ship with respect to the traveling direction of the wave approaching the ship. 20. The ship according to claim 19, wherein the control unit is configured to alternately repeat, when the navigation mode of the ship is the automatic navigation mode and the traveling direction of the ship is less than the first angle to one side in the left-right direction of the ship with respect to the traveling direction of a wave approaching the ship, the one-side ship traveling direction control that performs the ship traveling direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a third angle, as the specified angle that is greater than or equal to the first angle, to the other side in the left-right direction of the ship with respect to the traveling direction of a wave approaching the ship, and the other-side ship traveling direction control that performs the ship traveling direction control so that the traveling direction of the ship is at a fourth angle, as the specified angle that is greater than or equal to the first angle and smaller than the third angle, to one side in the left-right direction of the ship with respect to the traveling direction of a wave approaching the ship.

Images