JPS6142676B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a control system for an unmanned sailing boat used as an unmanned mobile station for ocean observation.

Recently, one or more unmanned sailing boats are placed in the observation target area, and the unmanned sailing boats are sailed along a predetermined route, and during the sailing, information about the ocean, such as air temperature, pressure, water temperature, direction of ocean currents, etc. Current velocity, average wave height, etc. are observed, and the information obtained through this observation is transmitted directly or via satellites to ground bases, and based on this observation information, the ground bases can determine the state of the ocean in the target area or A marine information collection system for understanding weather conditions is being considered.

Therefore, the unmanned sailing boat in this case includes a group of sensors for observing the various kinds of ocean-related information mentioned above;
A receiver that receives information on target direction and distance, etc., instructed directly from a ground base or via an artificial satellite, etc.; a transmitter that transmits ocean observation information, etc. observed by the above sensor group; It is equipped with an autopilot mechanism that controls the sails and rudder to sail toward the target direction or position.

Communication between the unmanned sailing boat and the ground base occurs several times a day at the most, and two-way communication is usually not carried out at the same time. The unmanned sailing boat then transmits a position measurement signal as well as transmits various marine information to the ground base. Meanwhile, the ground base receives position measurement signals from the unmanned sailing boat.
The position of the unmanned sailing boat is detected by calculating the signal, and the sailing course that the unmanned sailing boat should follow is set based on the wind direction at that position, the course relative to the target direction, etc., and the sailing course is expressed. Sends information to the unmanned sailing boat and instructs its sailing course. As a result, the unmanned sailing boat operates its autopilot mechanism based on the information representing the sailing course, and sails in accordance with the instructed direction. The newly moved position as a result of sailing will be detected at the ground base during the next communication.

However, the ocean where an unmanned sailing boat sails is generally subject to large fluctuations in wind power, wind direction, waves, etc., and it is not always possible for the boat to sail in normal conditions. For example, a boat may be sailing at a heel of 45 degrees or more due to the effects of wind and waves, and in extreme cases, it may capsize. Therefore, if various ocean observations are performed under such conditions in the same manner as under normal conditions, the observation results in this case will contain larger errors than the observation results during normal sailing.
If the boat is automatically piloted based on observation results that include this error, the contents of the maneuver will be inconsistent with the boat's own condition, or the boat's own condition will become even worse. For this reason, there is a risk that operating energy for the sails, rudders, etc. may be wasted, and in some cases, the sails, rudders, etc. may be damaged.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to control an unmanned sailing boat so that the boat quickly responds to its own conditions, thereby preventing wasted power and damage to the boat. The goal is to provide a method.

The unmanned sailing boat for marine observation of the present invention, which is equipped with a marine information observation mechanism and an autopilot mechanism to achieve such purposes, detects the inclination of the boat, boat speed, etc. using a plurality of sensors. It is determined from the detected value of the sensor whether the boat is in a normal sailing state, in a rough weather sailing state, or in a capsized state, and a control mode corresponding to each of these states is selected to send a normal sailing state signal or a rough weather sailing state. A sailing state signal or a capsize state signal is output from the control mode selection device to a normal sailing control circuit, a rough weather sailing control circuit, and a capsizing recovery control circuit, respectively, and the normal sailing state signal is input to the normal sailing control circuit. Correction information for performing a correction calculation corresponding to the normal sailing state is output to the marine information observation mechanism, and the operation contents are made to correspond to the normal sailing state to the autopilot mechanism. a correction signal for outputting an instruction signal, inputting the rough weather sailing state signal to the rough weather sailing control circuit, and performing a correction calculation corresponding to the rough weather sailing state to the marine information observation mechanism; outputs information, outputs a signal to the autopilot mechanism instructing the automatic pilot mechanism to make control contents corresponding to the sailing state in rough weather, and inputs the capsize state signal to the capsize recovery control circuit. outputs a signal to the marine information and observation mechanism instructing it to stop transmitting ocean observation results to the outside and outputs that the boat is capsized; This system is designed to output a signal instructing the operator to adjust the maneuver to restore the boat to its normal state, or to stop maneuvering until the boat is restored.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a control system for a boat to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a control mode selection device. This control mode selection device 1 determines the inclination of the boat, boat speed, etc. based on information obtained from a plurality of sensors, more specifically, a tilt sensor 2 that obtains inclination information and a boat speed sensor 3 that obtains boat speed information. Determine whether the boat is in a normal sailing state, a rough weather sailing state, or a capsized state, and select a control mode corresponding to the boat state, that is, a normal sailing state signal, a rough weather sailing state signal, or a capsized state. A signal is selected and output to a control circuit to which the marine information observation mechanism 7 and the automatic pilot mechanism 8 are connected. The control circuit consists of a normal sailing control circuit 4, a rough weather sailing control circuit 5, and a capsizing recovery control circuit 6, and based on each input control mode, a marine information observation mechanism 7 and an automatic pilot mechanism 8 are operated.
Outputs the optimal control signal for the Below are the normal sailing control circuit 4, the rough weather sailing control circuit 5,
The relationship between the capsize recovery control circuit 6, the marine information observation mechanism 7, and the automatic pilot mechanism 8 will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG.

When the normal sailing control circuit 4 is given the normal sailing state signal, it outputs correction information for performing correction calculations corresponding to the normal sailing state on the ocean observation results obtained by the oceanographic information observation mechanism 7, and
The autopilot mechanism 8 is instructed to make its maneuvering contents correspond to a normal sailing state. Specifically, it includes contents for changing the gain, operating force, etc. of the control mechanism.

When the rough weather sailing state signal is given, the rough weather sailing control circuit 5 outputs correction information for performing correction calculations corresponding to the rough weather sailing state on the marine observation results obtained by the marine information observation mechanism 7. , instructs the autopilot mechanism 8 to make its maneuvering contents compatible with the rough weather sailing condition.

When the capsize recovery control circuit 6 is given the capsize state signal, it stops transmitting ocean observation results obtained at the marine information observation mechanism 7 to the ground base, for example,
Instead, it instructs the autopilot mechanism 8 to send a signal indicating that the boat is capsized, and also instructs the autopilot mechanism 8 to control the boat in a manner that will restore the boat to its normal state, or Instruct them to stop operation until recovery is achieved.

By the way, each state of the boat mentioned here is defined as shown in FIG. 2, for example, when describing only the inclination of the boat. In other words, normal sailing conditions are marked by the symbol X in Figure 2.
As shown in Figure 2, the heel of the boat is less than 30° to 45°, and rough weather sailing conditions refer to cases where the heel of the boat is between 30° and 45° and less than 70°, as shown by symbol Y in Figure 2. °〜90
゜゜'', and a capsized condition is defined as
This refers to cases where the angle is 90° or more. In reality, each state of the boat is defined by a combination of elements such as the boat's heel, boat speed, sail condition, and rudder condition. Therefore, in this embodiment, three control modes are provided corresponding to the above three states.

In the above configuration, the control mode selection device 1 constantly judges the state of the boat based on the inclination information and boat speed information given from the inclination sensor 2 and the boat speed sensor 3, respectively, and selects three modes according to the judgment results. It instructs that the marine information observation mechanism 7 and the autopilot mechanism 8 should operate in a control mode corresponding to the current state among the control modes.
As a result, ocean observation results are corrected with correction information corresponding to the state of the boat and transmitted to the ground base.
At the same time, the autopilot mechanism 8 also executes maneuvering contents corresponding to the state of the boat. Therefore, by executing such control, the ocean observation results obtained will have fewer errors, and the autopilot content will also be adapted to the own conditions, and as a result,
There is less risk of wasting operating energy for the sails, rudders, etc., or damaging the sails or rudders themselves.

As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, since the rudder makes corrections to the ocean observation results and maneuver contents in accordance with its own state, ocean observation results with less error can be obtained at the ground base. In addition, it has extremely effective effects such as being able to prevent damage to the boat itself.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a control system for a boat to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of how to determine each state of the boat. 1... Control mode selection device, 2... Tilt sensor, 3... Boat speed sensor, 4... Normal sailing control circuit, 5... Severe weather sailing control circuit, 6... Capsize recovery control circuit, 7... Marine Information observation mechanism, 8...Autopilot mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an unmanned sailing boat for marine observation equipped with a marine information observation mechanism and an autopilot mechanism, there are multiple sensors that detect the inclination of the boat, boat speed, etc., and whether the boat is in a normal sailing state based on the detection values of the multiple sensors. Control that determines whether the vessel is sailing in rough weather, or capsized, selects a control mode corresponding to each of these conditions, and outputs a normal sailing condition signal, a rough weather sailing condition signal, or a capsized condition signal. a mode selection device;
The normal sailing state signal is input, and correction information for performing a correction calculation corresponding to the normal sailing state is output to the marine information observation mechanism, and the operation content is changed to the normal sailing state to the autopilot mechanism. a normal sailing control circuit that outputs a signal instructing the sailing condition to correspond to the rough weather sailing condition; and a correction calculation corresponding to the rough weather sailing condition for the marine information observation mechanism by inputting the rough weather sailing condition signal. a rough-weather sailing control circuit that outputs correction information for performing the above-described rough-weather sailing condition and outputs a signal instructing the autopilot mechanism to make maneuvering contents corresponding to the rough-weather sailing condition; and the capsize state signal. and outputs a signal to the marine information observation mechanism instructing it to stop transmitting marine observation results to the outside and output that the boat is in a capsized state, and outputs a signal to the autopilot mechanism to The vessel shall be equipped with a capsize recovery control circuit that outputs a signal instructing the boat to return to its normal state or to stop maneuvering until the boat is restored. Characteristics of unmanned sailing boats.