JP4847224B2 - Ship steering system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a marine steering apparatus.

There are outboard motors and inboard motors as ship propulsion devices.
In an inboard motor, a power device and a steering device for providing a propulsive force to the ship are provided inside the hull. The power device and the steering device may be provided integrally, or may be provided separately and connected to each other via a power transmission device.
In an outboard motor, a power unit is provided in an outboard motor body externally attached to the hull. Taking a small vessel such as a motor boat as an example, an independent rudder is not provided, and a steering mechanism is provided in the outboard motor itself. Specifically, steering is performed by changing the direction of the outboard motor main body.

In particular, in the case of a small motor boat, a driver directly steers through a handle bar attached to the outboard motor main body. In addition, the rotation of a steering member such as a steering wheel provided in the driver's seat may be transmitted by a rope, a pulley, a push-pull cable, or the like to steer the outboard motor body (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
In the marine steering system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the outboard motor is steered by driving an electric motor provided in the outboard motor according to the operation of the steering member.

In the marine steering apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, the outboard motor is steered through a link mechanism by a hydraulic cylinder driven in accordance with an operation of a steering member.
In recent years, a so-called steer-by-wire marine steering apparatus has been proposed in which a steering member such as a steering wheel of a driver's seat and an outboard motor are not mechanically coupled to each other (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

In the marine steering apparatus of Patent Document 3, the steering force of the outboard motor is generated by an electric motor controlled based on the steering angle of a steering member such as a steering wheel.
Japanese Patent No. 2509015 JP 2004-249791 A Japanese Patent No. 2959044

However, in the steer-by-wire system, it is very difficult for the operator to grasp the state of the ship through the steering member. That is, when compared with a conventional steering device in which the steering member and the steered member are mechanically connected, the operator feels uncomfortable with the steering.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a marine steering apparatus that does not feel uncomfortable in a steer-by-wire type ship.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 detects a steering member (3), a steering mechanism (5) not mechanically connected to the steering member, and a steering angle (θ) of the steering member. A steering angle detecting means (20) for controlling the turning angle (β) of the steering mechanism in accordance with the steering angle detected by the steering angle detecting means, and a steering member. A reaction force actuator (18) for applying force, and a reaction force control unit (34) for controlling the driving of the reaction force actuator in accordance with the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means. parts are in a predetermined range including the neutral position of the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means, by providing a dead zone in which the reaction force actuator does not impart reaction force to control the drive of the reaction force actuator, ship A ship speed detecting means for detecting the speed, and the reaction force control Parts are characterized in that have a function of changing the dead zone width in accordance with the boat speed detected by the boat speed detecting means.
The invention according to claim 2 is detected by the steering member, the steering mechanism that is not mechanically connected to the steering member, the steering angle detection means that detects the steering angle of the steering member, and the steering angle detection means. A steering angle control unit for controlling the steering angle of the steering mechanism according to the steering angle, a reaction force actuator for applying a reaction force to the steering member, and a steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means And a reaction force control unit that controls the driving of the reaction force actuator, and the reaction force control unit reacts the reaction force actuator within a predetermined range including a neutral position of the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means. By providing a dead zone that does not apply force, the driving of the reaction force actuator is controlled, and a steering speed detecting unit that detects the steering speed of the steering member is provided. The reaction force control unit is detected by the steering speed detecting unit. Depending on the steering speed It is characterized in that it has a function of changing the sensitive band width.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the turning angle control unit limits the change of the turning angle when the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means is in the dead zone. It has a function.

In each of the first and second aspects of the invention, the substantially neutral position of the steering angle can be accommodated in the dead zone, so that the direction of the reaction force is not switched at a position that is not a true neutral position. Therefore, there is no sense of incongruity in steering. Even if the hand is released from the steering member while the hull is turning, the steering member does not overshoot the neutral position, and the convergence is good .

By the way, regardless of the navigation speed of the hull (ship speed) and the speed of operation of the steering member (steering speed), when the dead zone width is constant, the steering operation is performed with excessive response to the operation of the steering member. As a result, the behavior of the hull may be difficult to control.
On the other hand, as in claim 1, a ship speed detecting means (24) for detecting the ship speed (V) is provided, and the reaction force control unit is responsive to the ship speed detected by the ship speed detecting means. as long as it has the ability to change the dead zone width, not preferred. Specifically, it is preferable to make the dead zone width relatively wide when the boat speed is relatively large.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steering speed detecting means for detecting the steering speed (dθ / dt) of the steering member, and the reaction force control section is a dead zone according to the steering speed detected by the steering speed detecting means. as long as it has the ability to change the width, not preferred. Specifically, it is preferable to make the dead zone width relatively wide when the steering speed is relatively high.
Further, as in claim 3, when the steering angle control unit has a function of limiting the change of the steering angle when the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means is in the dead zone, Occurrence of wobbling on the left and right sides of the hull while traveling straight ahead can be prevented.
In the above description, the alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent reference numerals of corresponding components in the embodiments described later.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a ship to which a marine steering apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. Referring to FIG. 1, a steering member 3 such as a steering wheel is attached to the front portion of the hull 2. Further, an outboard motor 4 as a propulsion unit that also serves as a steering member and a steering mechanism 5 for achieving steering by changing the direction of the outboard motor 4 are provided at the rear of the hull 2. ing. The outboard motor 4 includes a propeller 4a and an outboard motor main body 4c having an internal combustion engine 4b for driving the propeller 4a via a drive shaft (not shown).

  In the marine steering apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the mechanical coupling between the steering member 3 and the steering mechanism 5 is eliminated. The steered mechanism 5 includes a steered actuator 6 that is driven in accordance with an operation of the steering member 3 and is composed of, for example, an electric motor such as a brushless motor. The turning mechanism 5 turns by changing the direction of the outboard motor 4 using the driving force of the turning actuator 6. The first end bracket 7a and the second end 7b of the shaft 7 extending along the width direction W1 of the hull 2 (corresponding to the direction orthogonal to the center line C1 of the hull 2) correspond to the first mounting brackets respectively. 8 (first mounting member) and second mounting bracket 9 (second mounting member) are fixed to the hull 2, respectively.

  The shaft 7 is provided with a moving body 10 that incorporates the steering actuator 6 and is movable along the axial length direction of the shaft 7 (corresponding to the width direction W1 of the hull 2). The moving body 10 and the shaft 7 are connected to each other via a conversion mechanism 11 including a ball screw mechanism, for example. On the other hand, the outboard motor main body 4c is attached to the hull 2 so as to be rotatable around the turning center shaft 12, and the outboard motor main body 4c and the moving body 10 are connected via a link mechanism 13 as a transmission mechanism. Are connected to each other.

The link mechanism 13 has a first bracket 14 having one end fixed to the moving body 10 and one end (not shown) fixed to the outboard motor main body 4c. And a second bracket 15 that is freely rotatable around 12. The other end of the first bracket 14 and the other end of the second bracket 15 are rotatably connected via a connecting shaft 16.
When the steering actuator 6 is driven, the driving force of the steering actuator 6 is converted into a linear motion of the moving body 10 in the axial length direction of the shaft 7 via the conversion mechanism 11. Further, the linear motion of the moving body 10 is converted to rotation of the outboard motor 4 around the turning center axis 12 in the turning direction X1 via the link mechanism 13 so that turning is achieved. It has become.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the steering member 3 is connected to one end of a rotating shaft 17 that is rotatably supported with respect to the hull 2. The rotary shaft 17 is provided with a reaction force actuator 18 for applying an operation reaction force to the steering member 3. The reaction force actuator 18 includes an electric motor such as a brushless motor having an output shaft integrated with the rotary shaft 17. Although not shown, the casing of the electric motor is fixed to an appropriate part of the hull 2.

  An elastic member 19 made of a spiral spring or the like is interposed between the other end of the rotating shaft 17 and the hull 2, and this elastic member 19 biases the steering member 3 to the neutral position via the rotating shaft 17. is doing. When the reaction force actuator 18 does not apply torque to the rotary shaft 17, the steering member 2 is returned to the neutral position (corresponding to the straight steering position) by the elastic force of the elastic member 19.

In order to detect an operation input value of the steering member 3, a steering angle sensor 20 as a steering angle detection unit for detecting the steering angle of the steering member 3 is provided in association with the rotary shaft 17. The steering angle sensor 20 is composed of, for example, a rotary encoder.
Further, in relation to the position of the moving body 10 on the shaft 7 included in the turning mechanism 5, the turning angle γ (the direction of the outboard motor 4 with respect to the center line C1 of the hull 2) is detected. A turning angle sensor 22 is provided as turning angle detection means. As the turning angle sensor 22, a linear encoder, a potentiometer, or the like is used. Further, a ship speed sensor 24 for detecting a navigation speed (ship speed) of the hull 2 is provided.

Output signals of the steering angle sensor 20, the turning angle sensor 22, and the ship speed sensor 24 are input to the control unit 28 constituted by an electronic control unit (ECU) including a microcomputer or the like, and based on these signals. The control unit 28 appropriately controls the steering actuator 6 and the reaction force actuator 18 via the corresponding drive circuits 29 and 30.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the contents of the main control. The control unit 28 includes a plurality of function processing units that are realized in software by a computer executing predetermined program processing.

  That is, the control unit 28 is based on the target turning angle calculation unit 31 that calculates the target turning angle, and the target turning angle and the actual turning angle (the turning angle actually detected by the turning angle sensor 22). A steering angle control unit 32 for controlling the steering actuator 6, a target steering reaction force calculation unit 33 for calculating a target steering reaction force, and a reaction force actuator 18 based on the target steering reaction force. And a reaction force control unit 34.

  The target turning angle calculation unit 31 inputs the steering angle θ detected by the steering angle sensor 20 and the ship speed V detected by the ship speed sensor 24, and calculates the target turning angle based on the acquired information. . The calculated target turning angle is given to the turning angle control unit 32. The turning angle control unit 32 feedback-controls the turning actuator 6 while referring to the detection result (actual turning angle) by the turning angle sensor 22 based on the acquired information.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the target steering reaction force (torque) calculated by the target steering reaction force calculation unit 33 is zero within a predetermined range including the neutral position of the steering angle θ of the steering member 3. There is a dead zone, and the dead zone width W has a characteristic of increasing or decreasing according to the level of the boat speed V given as an input from the boat speed sensor 24. Further, the characteristic outside the dead zone when the ship speed V is different is a characteristic obtained by translating the linear function portion.

The target steering reaction force calculation unit 33 inputs the ship speed V detected by the ship speed sensor 24, obtains a characteristic having a dead zone width W determined according to the ship speed V, and uses the obtained characteristic. Then, the target steering reaction force F corresponding to the steering angle θ detected by the steering angle sensor 20 is calculated.
The target steering reaction force calculation unit 33 outputs a reaction force instruction signal corresponding to the calculated target steering reaction force F to the reaction force control unit 34. The reaction force control unit 34 determines a target current for the reaction force actuator 18 according to the target steering reaction force value output from the target steering reaction force calculation unit 33, and according to the target current. And an output current control unit 36 that controls a current output to the reaction force actuator 18. A current control signal from the output current control unit 36 is input to the drive circuit 30, and the drive circuit 30 drives the reaction force actuator 18 by, for example, PWM control. Further, feedback control of output current is performed between the drive circuit 30 and the output current control unit 36.

The reaction force actuator 18 driven in this way operates to apply a force (reaction force) in the direction opposite to the operation direction to the steering member 3.
Then, it is a flowchart which shows the flow of control of the control part 28. FIG. First, the control unit 28 reads the ship speed V from the ship speed sensor 24 (step S1), and determines the dead zone width W using the following equation (1) according to the ship speed V (step S2). .

W = K × Func1 (V) (1)
K is a proportionality constant determined according to the characteristics of the hull 2 and the steering mechanism 5. The function Func1 (V) may be expressed by, for example, the expression Func1 (V) = V ^−a as the minus a power of the ship speed V. However, the multiplier a is a positive constant and preferably satisfies the inequality 0 <a <3.

Next, a characteristic of steering angle θ-target steering reaction force F is determined (step S3). That is,
When the steering angle θ is in the range of − (W / 2) ≦ θ ≦ (W / 2), the target steering reaction force F is set to zero as shown in the following formula (2) to be a dead zone.
F = 0 (2)
Further, the characteristics of the reaction force outside the dead zone are determined using the following equations (3) and (4). That is, in a region where the steering angle θ is larger than (W / 2), that is, in a region where (W / 2) <θ, F = e × [θ− (W / 2)] (3)
In a region where the steering angle θ is smaller than − (W / 2), that is, in a region where θ <− (W / 2),
F = −e × [θ + (W / 2)] (4)
Here, in equations (3) and (4), e is a positive constant.

Next, the steering angle θ is read from the steering angle sensor 20 (step S4), and the target steering reaction force F corresponding to the steering angle θ is obtained from the corresponding equation (2), (3) or (4) (step). S5).
Thereby, a target current value corresponding to the determined target steering reaction force F is set (step S6). The drive circuit 30 of the reaction force actuator 18 is controlled so that a current equal to the target current value flows through the reaction force actuator 14 (step S7).

On the other hand, regarding the turning control, as shown in FIG. 5, the steering angle θ is read from the steering angle sensor 20 (step S10), and the dead zone width W determined by the reaction force control is read (step S11).
Next, in step S12, it is determined whether or not the operation angle θ is within the dead zone. That is, it is determined whether or not the absolute value of θ is less than half of the dead zone width W.

When the operating angle θ is in the dead zone, that is, when | θ | ≦ (W / 2), the turning control unit 32 is prohibited from changing the turning angle γ (step S13). When the operation angle θ is outside the dead zone, that is, when | θ |> (W / 2), normal steering control is performed (step S14).
According to the present embodiment, since the substantial neutral position of the steering angle θ with respect to the steering reaction force can be accommodated in the dead zone, the direction of the reaction force is not switched at a position that is not a true neutral position. Therefore, there is no sense of incongruity in steering. Further, even if the driver releases his hand from the steering member 3 while the hull 2 is turning, the steering member 3 does not overshoot the neutral position, and therefore the convergence is good.

In particular, when navigating at a high speed, a natural steering feeling without a sense of incongruity can be obtained by widening the width of the dead zone to such an extent that a sense of incongruity does not occur with respect to the steering reaction force. Also, when the steering angle θ is within the dead zone, the change of the turning angle is prohibited, and from this point, there is no sense of incongruity in steering.
Next, FIG. 6 shows the flow of control for changing the dead zone width W of the target steering reaction force F in another embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 28 reads the ship speed V from the ship speed sensor 24 (step S21). Next, the steering angle θ is read from the steering angle sensor 20 (step S22), and the steering speed dθ / dt is detected by subjecting the steering angle θ to differential calculation processing (step S23).

Next, the dead zone width W is determined using the following equation (5) according to the read ship speed V and the detected steering speed dθ / dt (step S24).
W = K × Func1 (V) × Func2 (dθ / dt) (5)
K is a proportionality constant determined according to the characteristics of the hull 2 and the steering mechanism 5. The function Func1 (V) may be expressed by, for example, the expression Func1 (V) = V ^−a as the minus a power of the ship speed V. However, the multiplier a is a positive constant and preferably satisfies the inequality 0 <a <3.

Func2 (dθ / dt) may be expressed by the expression Func2 (dθ / dt) = (dθ / dt) ^−b , for example, as the minus b power of the steering speed dθ / dt. However, the multiplier b is a positive constant and preferably satisfies the inequality of 0 <b <3.
Thus, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, when the steering speed dθ / dt is small, the dead band width W is reduced, and when the steering speed dθ / dt is large, the dead band width W is increased. When the boat speed V is low, the dead zone width W is reduced. When the boat speed V is high, the dead zone width W is increased.

  Therefore, when the ship speed V is high and the steering speed dθ / dt is low, the dead zone width W is reduced, so that a reaction force is applied with a good response to a gentle steering operation during high-speed navigation. Is done. On the other hand, even during high-speed navigation, when a quick steering operation is performed in order to avoid obstacles on the water, the dead zone width W is increased. There is no risk of reaction force. Therefore, the driver does not feel uncomfortable in steering.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the marine steering apparatus of the present invention may be applied to a ship that obtains a propulsive force by a so-called inboard motor. In addition, various changes can be made within the scope of the claims.

1 is a schematic view of a ship to which a marine steering system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram of the principal part of the ship steering device. It is a characteristic view showing the relationship between the steering angle for each ship speed and the target steering reaction force. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of reaction force control. It is a flowchart regarding steering control. In another embodiment of this invention, it is a flowchart for determining a dead zone width | variety. FIG. 7A is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the steering angle and the target steering reaction force when the boat speed is relatively small, and FIG. 7B shows the relationship between the steering angle and the target steering reaction force when the boat speed is relatively large. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ship steering apparatus, 2 ... Hull, 3 ... Steering member, 4 ... Outboard motor (steering member), 5 ... Steering mechanism, 6 ... Steering actuator, 18 ... Reaction force actuator, 20 ... Steering angle sensor (Steering angle detection means), 22 ... steering angle sensor (steering angle detection means), 24 ... ship speed sensor (ship speed detection means), 28 ... control section, 32 ... steering angle control section, 33 ... target steering Reaction force calculation unit 34... Reaction force control unit θ θ Steering angle γ Steering angle F F Target steering reaction force dθ / dt Steering speed

Claims (3)

A steering member, a steering mechanism that is not mechanically connected to the steering member, a steering angle detection unit that detects a steering angle of the steering member, and a steering mechanism that is in accordance with the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection unit The steering angle control unit for controlling the steering angle of the vehicle, the reaction force actuator for applying a reaction force to the steering member, and the drive of the reaction force actuator according to the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means A reaction force control unit configured to provide a dead zone in which the reaction force actuator does not apply a reaction force in a predetermined range including a neutral position of the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection unit. , Control the drive of the reaction force actuator ,
Comprising a boat speed detecting means for detecting the boat speed, the reaction force control unit, marine steering system, characterized in that it have the function of changing the dead zone width in accordance with the boat speed detected by the boat speed detecting means. A steering member, a steering mechanism that is not mechanically connected to the steering member, a steering angle detection unit that detects a steering angle of the steering member, and a steering mechanism that is in accordance with the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection unit The steering angle control unit for controlling the steering angle of the vehicle, the reaction force actuator for applying a reaction force to the steering member, and the drive of the reaction force actuator according to the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means A reaction force control unit configured to provide a dead zone in which the reaction force actuator does not apply a reaction force in a predetermined range including a neutral position of the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection unit. , Control the drive of the reaction force actuator,
A marine steering system comprising steering speed detecting means for detecting a steering speed of a steering member, wherein the reaction force control unit has a function of changing a dead band width according to a steering speed detected by the steering speed detecting means. apparatus. 3. The marine vessel according to claim 1, wherein the turning angle control unit has a function of restricting the change of the turning angle when the steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means is in the dead zone. Steering device.

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