JPH0513878B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a trim device for a small boat that automatically sets the cruising angle to an optimum value.

<Conventional technology and its problems> Adjusting the difference between the front and rear drafts to properly set the running angle reduces fuel consumption when cruising at medium speeds or higher, improves speed, and secures cruising stability. This is an important element for However, conventional trim devices are mechanical and can only be adjusted in steps, and the adjustment is generally set at a position that the pilot deems appropriate based on experience and intuition, and is adjusted according to the speed. In practice, it was quite difficult to set and maintain the optimum condition.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems and has an object of providing a trim device that can automatically set the trim to the optimum condition.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, the trim device of the present invention includes a trim tab driving means for driving a trim tab provided at the stern to change its angle, and a trim tab driving means for changing the angle of the trim tab. A trim angle detection means detects the engine load, a load detection means detects the engine load, an accelerator position detection means detects the accelerator position, and when it is detected that the accelerator position has not changed, the trim tab is adjusted to adjust the engine load. and an arithmetic unit that outputs a control signal to the trim tab driving means so as to set the trim tab driving means to an angle that minimizes the angle.

<Function> There are various views on the criteria for determining the suitability of the running angle, but optimizing the condition in which the engine load is the smallest reduces fuel consumption during sailing, improves speed, and provides stable sailing. It is reasonable from the viewpoint of ensuring sexual health, etc.
The present invention is based on this idea, and when it is detected that the accelerator position has not changed, the calculation section calculates the angle of the trim tab that minimizes the load on the engine, and sets the trim tab to this angle. The trim tab driving means is controlled in this manner. Therefore, the optimal cruising angle is automatically obtained, and this state is maintained as long as the accelerator position at that time does not change.

<Example> Next, examples will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the outline of the configuration.
1 is a control unit, 2 is an accelerator sensor, 3 is a trim sensor, 4 is a load sensor, and 5 is a trim tab driving means. The control unit 1 includes an input circuit 11, an A/D conversion circuit 12, a CPU 13 which is the center of the calculation unit, a ROM 14 and RAM 15 used for calculation, an output circuit 16, etc., and detects each sensor 2, 3, 4. The result is input to the control unit 1 through the input circuit 11. Further, the calculation result is outputted from the output circuit 16, and the trim tab driving means 5 is driven. As this trim tab driving means 5, an electric hydraulic motor is used.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall schematic structure. Trim tabs 22 are provided on the rear left and right sides of the hull 21, respectively. 23 and 24 are links that support the trim tab 22, and the trim sensor 3 is disposed at the base of the link 24. 25 is trim tab 2
2, and is connected to an electric hydraulic motor 5 via a hydraulic pipe 26, and the electric hydraulic motor 5 is connected to a controller 28 provided in the cockpit via a wire harness 27. It is connected to the. The controller 28 has a built-in control unit 1, as well as a control lever for setting the trim angle during manual control, various indicators, an auto trim selection switch (none of which are shown), and an accelerator in the cockpit. A lever 29, a steering handle 30, etc. are provided. The accelerator sensor 2 is of a potentiometer type, for example, and is arranged at the base of the accelerator lever 29. 31 is an engine, and a load sensor 4 is provided.

Next, the control procedure of the first embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the first embodiment, the load is detected from the engine rotation speed, and as long as the accelerator position does not change, control is performed based on the idea that when the load is minimum, the rotation speed is maximum. . Therefore, a rotational speed sensor is used as the load sensor 4, and various known sensors such as a combination of a rotating pulser and an electromagnetic pickup can be used as the rotational speed sensor.

FIG. 3a shows the overall procedure. First, the state of the auto trim selection switch of the controller 28 is determined, and if the automatic mode is selected, it is determined whether the accelerator lever 29 is at a certain position or not. It is determined whether The automatic mode is based on the assumption that the accelerator lever 29 is not moved, and if the accelerator lever 29 is moved, the mode automatically becomes the manual mode even if the selection switch is in the automatic mode.

FIG. 3b shows a subroutine in automatic mode,
After the angle of the trim tab 22 is read, the electric hydraulic motor 5 is driven in a direction to raise the trim tab 22. Then, the control unit 1 controls the change in the rotation speed of the engine 31 corresponding to the change in the angle of the trim tab 22.
When the trim tab 22 reaches the highest position, the electric oil motor 5 is reversed, and while lowering the trim tab 22 until it reaches the lowest position,
Changes in the rotation speed corresponding to changes in the angle of the trim tab 22 are stored. As a result, the relationship between the angle of the trim tab 22 and the number of rotations at the current position of the accelerator lever 29 becomes clear, so the electric hydraulic motor 5 is driven so that the angle of the trim tab 22 becomes the angle at which the number of rotations is the highest. , and set the trim tab 22 in that position.

The above control is repeated at regular intervals,
When the set position of the accelerator lever 29 changes, the trim tab 22 is driven in accordance with the new position, and the rotation speed of the engine 31 is always controlled to be at its maximum.

Figure 3c is a manual mode subroutine,
The target trim angle set by the left and right control levers of the controller 28 and the actual trim angle are read, the electric hydraulic motor 5 is driven so as to make the difference between them zero, and the trim tab 22 is set to the target trim angle. It is.

Next, the control procedure of the second embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this second embodiment, the engine load is detected by the operating position of the fuel supply amount adjustment device, and as long as the accelerator position does not change, the fuel supply amount will be the minimum when the load is at the minimum. Control is performed based on this idea. Therefore, when the engine is a diesel engine, a rack position sensor is used as the load sensor 4 to detect the rack position for controlling the injection amount. As the rack position sensor, in addition to a potentiometer type, a distance sensor such as a proximity sensor can be used as appropriate.

First, the detection results of each sensor are read, and the adjustment flag that is turned on when automatic mode control is required is determined. If not, it is determined whether the position of the accelerator lever 29 has changed in step 1. , if it has changed, the adjustment flag is turned on again, and then it is determined whether the fuel injection amount increase flag is on or off (step 2).

If the injection amount increase flag is off, the program moves to step 3, moves the trim tab 22 upward by α degrees by the electric hydraulic motor 5, and waits for a certain period of time T seconds to observe the change in the fuel injection amount. Then, if the change is within the preset allowable maximum amount of fuel increase σ, the optimum flag 1 is turned on, and if the optimum flag 2 is on, the adjustment flag is turned off, completing the adjustment, and returning to the start for the next step. Enter the next operation.

On the other hand, if the injection amount change after T seconds is greater than the allowable maximum amount σ, or if the optimum flag 2 is off,
Turn on the injection amount increase flag, return to the start, and move on to the next operation. Since the injection amount increase flag is on this time, the process moves to step 4, where the electric hydraulic motor 5 moves the trim tab 22 downward by α degrees, and after T seconds, the change in fuel injection amount is compared with the allowable maximum amount σ. , if the change is within σ, the optimum flag 2 is turned on. If the optimum flag 1 is on, the adjustment flag is turned off and the process returns to the start.

Further, if the injection amount change after T seconds is greater than the allowable maximum amount σ, or if the optimum flag 1 is off, the injection amount increase flag is turned off and the process returns to the start. In this case, since the injection amount increase flag is off, the procedure goes to Step 3 and subsequent steps in which the trim tab 22 is moved upward by α degrees again. In this way, the procedures from step 3 onwards and from step 4 onwards are repeated alternately until both optimum flags 1 and 2 are turned on.

In the above explanation, the fact that both optimum flags 1 and 2 are turned on means that the fuel injection amount does not change even if the trim tab 22 is moved up or down, and the trim tab is set at an angle that minimizes the fuel injection amount. 22 can be considered to have been set. In other words, since it is determined that no further adjustment is necessary, the adjustment flag is turned off, and as long as the accelerator position does not change, the adjustment flag remains off and this state is maintained.

Note that the maximum allowable fuel increase amount σ is preferably a small value in order to improve control accuracy. However, if it is too small, hunting or the like where the width of the dead zone becomes narrow tends to occur, so it is desirable to set it to an appropriate value based on experiments or the like.

<Effects of the Invention> As is clear from the description of each of the above embodiments,
In the trim device for a small boat according to the present invention, when the accelerator position is not changed, the calculation section calculates the angle of the trim tab that minimizes the load on the engine, and the trim tab drive means is configured to set the trim tab at this angle. It was designed to be controlled. Therefore, as long as the accelerator position does not change, the optimum cruising angle according to the current accelerator position can be automatically obtained and maintained, resulting in reduced fuel consumption, increased speed, and cruising angle during cruising. This has the advantage of making it easier to ensure running stability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the structure of an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2a and 2b are a plan view and a side view showing a schematic structure of the embodiment, and FIGS. 3a to 3 c is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the first embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the second embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Control part, 2... Accelerator sensor, 3... Trim sensor, 4... Load sensor (rotation speed sensor, rack position sensor), 5... Trim tab drive means (electric hydraulic motor), 13... CPU, 21... Hull, 22... trim tab, 25...hydraulic cylinder, 29...accelerator lever, 31...engine.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Trim tab driving means for driving a trim tab provided at the stern to change its angle; trim angle detecting means for detecting the angle of the trim tab; load detecting means for detecting engine load; an accelerator position detection means for detecting the accelerator position; and outputting a control signal to the trim tab driving means so as to set the trim tab at an angle that minimizes engine load when it is detected that the accelerator position has not changed. A trim device for a small ship, comprising: a calculation section; 2. The trim device for a small boat according to claim 1, which uses means for detecting engine rotation speed as the load detecting means. 3. The trim device for a small boat according to claim 1, wherein means for detecting the operating position of the fuel supply amount adjustment device is used as the load detection means.